Swisspreneur Show
Swisspreneur
The Swisspreneur Show is a podcast series of in-depth, candid conversations with some of Switzerland’s most successful founders, business leaders and innovators. By getting to the heart of these leaders’ stories - their successes, their failures, their must-have advice and greatest regrets - we hope to both inspire and guide the next generation of Swiss entrepreneurs. Each episode deconstructs and showcases one person’s personal and professional background and provides advice and recommendations for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in Switzerland.
EP #477 - Simon Michel: Swiss Politics & Running a Large Medtech Business
Timestamps:7:55 - Is Ypsomed just an insulin company?10:12 - Selling B2B and B2C simultaneously18:33 - Doing an IPO in 200420:20 - How to make your stock 7x22:47 - Getting into regional politicsThis episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket.About Simon Michel:Simon Michel is the CEO of Ypsomed, the leading developer and manufacturer of injection systems for self-medication. He is also the head of Swiss S
EP #476 - Thomas Schori: How to Recycle Plastic & Save the Oceans
Timestamps:5:15 - When tide ocean became a full-time project14:50 - What happens to tide ocean when we run out of plastic?28:26 - Plastic vs glass or paper recycling32:36 - How tide ocean pays and incentives employees from developing countries46:51 - Do startup competitions actually help startups? This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth, the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge.Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
EP #475 - Manuel Hartmann: Why Trust is Broken in Sales – And How to Restore It
Timestamps:4:48 - What is ‘speed of trust’?7:40 - Why AI is a trust-breaker12:35 - Cultivating customer trust23:15 - Hubspot taking market share33:43 - Learning from other people’s mistakesThis episode was co-produced by the SalesPlaybook, DACHs' leading B2B Sales & HubSpot agency for fast-growing 7-8 figure entrepreneurs to increase pipeline, revenue & sales efficiency. About Manuel Hartmann:Manuel Hartmann is the founder and CEO of SalesPlaybook, a sales agency with 7-figure annual revenue hel
EP #473 - Alessandra Agnello: Investing In Swiss Founders Across The Globe
Timestamps:1:54 - Doing a master’s degree in China 17:25 - Is VC money right for every startup?23:30 - How to get Alessandra’s attention as a startup 33:32 - What makes Alessandra invest42:10 - Investment red flagsThis episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Clickhere to purchase your ticket.About Alessandra Agnello:Alessandra Agnello is the principal atACE Ventures, a VC fund backing early stage Swiss tech founders across the globe. Sh
EP #472 - Victoria Ransom: Building An Incredible Culture, In-Person or Remotely
Timestamps:
6:13 - Why culture can’t be copied
12:24 - Hiring fast and well
15:30 - Creating a sense of belonging
17:36 - Making tough decisions for the sake of culture
20:36 - Being clear about your values
About Victoria Ransom:
Victoria Ransom is the co-founder of Wildfire, a social marketing software-as-a-service company which was acquired by Google, and of Prisma, a global virtual school (grades 4-12). She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and worked as a Financial Analyst at Morgan
EP #472 - The Successful Contovista Exit & Building a Climate Tech Startup
Timestamps:
7:35 - The successful Contovista exit
12:30 - Contovista investors getting a 33x return
17:17 - How do you reach product market fit?
31:05 - Why Gian started NORM
42:10 - Energy efficiency and climate change
Resources Mentioned:
The 4 Levels of PMF, First Round Capital
About Gian Reto à Porta:
Gian Reto à Porta is a serial entrepreneur and business Angel. He co-founded and successfully exited Contovista, a 2013 fintech pioneer, and nowadays is active as a co-founder and CEO at Norm
EP #471 - Harnessing Human Motion Analysis to Create a Digital Personal Coach
Timestamps:
13:18 - Splitting shares with your co-founders
24:42 - Have they hit product-market fit?
30:48 - Getting Alex Ilic as an advisor and investor
34:43 - Giving an advisor phantom stocks
38:20 - Getting acquired by BowFlex
About Joel Roos & Ben Simon:
Joel Roos and Ben Simon are the co-founders of VAY, a startup offering motion tracking technology for fitness and physical therapy. Joel holds a MSc in Robotics Systems and Control from ETH and worked at Rapyuta Robotics before co-founding
EP #470 - Apple, AI & Silicon Valley with Guy Kawasaki
Timestamps:
3:26 - Getting an MBA or building a startup?
8:44 - Guy’s irrational love for Apple
14:05 - Giving startups advice in exchange for stocks
22:00 - What makes a remarkable person?
About Guy Kawasaki:
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of the Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), and adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wik
EP #469 - Hans-Peter Strebel: Das MS Medikament aus Muri AG
Timestamps:
4:19 - Die Forschung nach einem Psoriasis Medikament
9:45 - Biogen beteiligt sich an der Forschung nach MS Medikament
32:22 - Das OYM - Ein wissenschaftlicher Approach zum Spitzensport
44:05 - Das Businessmodell hinter dem OYM
48:50 - Erfolg trotz Gegenwind - gestärkt durch die Kritiker
Über Hans-Peter Strebel:
Hans-Peter Strebel ist der Gründer von Fumapharm, einem Unternehmen, das ein bahnbrechendes Medikament zur Behandlung von Psoriasis und Multipler Sklerose (MS)
EP # 468 - Laurent Decrue & Boris Manhart: Have You Done Your Homework on Product-Market Fit?
Timestamps:
10:22 - Defining and testing the Ideal Customer Profile
13:11 - Does ICP vary from B2B to B2C?
20:40 - Metrics that prove you’ve hit PMF
30:29 - When is it time to start scaling?
About Laurent Decrue & Boris Manhart:
Laurent Decrue is the co-founder of the moving company MOVU and the software company Holycode, and the former CEO at Bexio. Currently he is active as CFO and co-CEO at Holycode. He holds an MBA from the University of Basel and previously worked at DeinDeal.
Boris Ma
EP #467 - Britta Thiele-Klapproth & Tobias Britt: Should Swiss Startups Expand to Germany First?
Timestamps:
12:15 - Why expand to Germany first
16:19 - The differences between Germany and Switzerland
19:15 - The minimum budget for expanding to Germany
20:42 - Changing pricing for the German market
26:49 - The main challenge of expanding to Germany
This episode was co-produced with Switzerland Global Enterprise.
About Britta Thiele-Klapproth & Tobias Britt:
Britta Thiele-Klapproth is the Head of Export and Investment Promotion at Swiss Business Hub Germany, helping Swiss companies do
EP #466 - Abouzar Rahmani: How One Company is Disrupting the Food Industry
Timestamps:
1:34 - Over 100 years of family entrepreneurship
11:40 - Why start foodyoung?
17:34 - Changes in the food industry
29:12 - Expanding to the US
35:42 - European and American investors
About Abouzar Rahmani:
Abouzar Rahmani is the co-founder and CEO of FoodYoung, a consumer food innovation company developing high-quality, clean, and sustainable food solutions. He is originally from Iran and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from UBI Business School, B
EP #465 - Barbara Horvath: How to Give Robots a New Skin with Printed Electronics
Timestamps:
10:34 - What is high precision electronics manufacturing?
17:52 - How to understand the problems of potential customers
22:03 - Giving robots proximity sensors
26:55 - Inveel’s fundraising strategy
33:38 - The money candle and the motivation candle
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place next year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket.
About Barbara Horvath:
Barbara Horvath is the co-founder and CEO of Inveel, a startup providing
EP #464 - Samy Liechti: Pioneering E-Commerce & Subscriptions in the 90s
Timestamps:
2:08 - An infamous meeting with Japanese business people
12:13 - A sock subscription in the 90s?
19:50 - Getting raw materials from all over the globe
37:51 - Tracking customer metrics in the 90s
39:33 - Bootstrapping in e-commerce
This episode was co-produced with EO Zürich. Check out their upcoming event, Entrepreneurs Summit 2025.
About Samy Liechti:
Samy Liechti is a co-founder and the former CEO of BLACKSOCKS, the Swiss e-commerce sock company that invented the “sockscription”
EP #463 - Frédéric Loizeau: How Photonic Integrated Circuits Will Supercharge AI
Timestamps:
4:35 - Similarities between entrepreneurship and academia
9:02 - What are photonic integrated circuits?
16:07 - Approaching customers from different industries
17:09 - Why Lightium is still in beta stage
18:51 - What business model do they plan on adopting?
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place next year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket.
About Frédéric Loizeau:
Frédéric Loizeau is the co-founder and CRO of Lightium, a Swiss
EP #462 - Marko Bjelonic: The Swiss Robotics Company Jeff Bezos Invested In
Timestamps:
3:52 - Is Switzerland a better version of Germany?
20:55 - Choosing an industry out of many use cases
24:06 - A business model for robotics
26:28 - Doing software and hardware simultaneously
31:51 - Getting Jeff Bezos as an investor
About Marko Bjelonic:
Marko Bjelonic is the co-founder and CEO of Swiss-Mile, a deep tech ETH spin-off connecting AI with the physical world through autonomous machines. He holds a PhD in Robotics from ETH and worked as a researcher at NCCR Robotic
EP #461 - Lida Ahmadi & Adam Korczak: Top Skills a Startup Founder Must Have
Timestamps:
8:48 - Building a startup in tissue engineering
11:23 - Building a foodtech venture studio
15:49 - The underrated challenge of making phone calls every day
23:44 - Why having an analytical mind is crucial
26:41 - The importance of mentorship
This episode was co-produced with the Female Founders Initiative.
The conversation originally took place at the Rise Up Summit 2024.
Answer our quick questionnaire about entrepreneurial skills here.
About Lida Ahmadi & Adam Korczak:
L
EP #460 - Cyrill Gyger: How to Sell 3D Radar Tech to Public Hospitals
Timestamps:
8:43 - Aligning co-founder incentives with company success
18:21 - How can radars track our breathing?
25:45 - Partnering up with Innosuisse
30:25 - B2B selling to hospitals
33:47 - Selling to an industry in crisis
This episode was co-produced with Innosuisse.
About Cyrill Gyger:
Cyrill Gyger is the co-founder and CEO of QUMEA, a company that offers digital mobility monitoring for patient safety. Cyrill holds an MSc in Engineering from Berner Fachhochschule BFH and worked for Zühl
EP #459 - Sergio P. Ermotti: Führung, Leidenschaft und die Zukunft der UBS
Timestamps:
04:02 - Die Integration der Credit Suisse – ein Mammutprojekt
06:27 - Vom Fussballtraum zum Banker
19:32 - Leadership bei UBS: Strategie und Glaubwürdigkeit
29:36 - Verantwortung für die Schweiz und die Gesellschaft
35:23 - Sacrifice for Success: Ermottis Rat an junge Talente
Über Sergio P. Ermotti:
Sergio P. Ermotti, Group CEO der UBS, ist eine der prägendsten Persönlichkeiten der globalen Finanzwelt. Geboren und aufgewachsen im Tessin, träumte er zunächst von einer
EP #458 - Florim Cuculi: A Doctor With Entrepreneurial Blood
Timestamps:
6:17 - Why go into medicine
11:24 - How to be a doctor and an entrepreneur
14:49 - Being a successful leader
31:11 - Staying healthy and stress-free
34:30 - Being an influencer doctor
Resources Mentioned:
Homo Faber, Max Frisch
This episode was co-produced with
EP #457 - Nikolai Schröder: How to Stand Out in the Car Subscription Market
Timestamps:
13:40 - The rental car industry
20:16 - Why rent a car?
22:00 - Do people wreck FINN cars?
26:25 - The FINN car insurance
37:42 - Equity vs debt financing
About Nikolai Schröder:
Nikolai Schröder is the co-founder and COO of FINN, a German car subscription startup. He holds a MSc in Industrial Engineering from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and previously worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group before starting FINN in 2019.
FINN offers a car subscription which includes everythi
EP#456 - Leonie Flückiger: Why Luxury Watches Need NFTs
Timestamps:
5:19 - Helvetia Insurance teams up with ETH Juniors
7:22 - Accessing the Swiss luxury watch market
10:45 - A business model for luxury watch NFTs
14:47 - Acquiring customers
20:15 - Why Leonie wanted her business to be acquired
This episode was co-produced with the Female Founders Initiative.
About Leonie Flückiger:
Leonie Flückiger is a co-founder of Adresta, a company which creates digital certificates for luxury watches. She holds a MSc in Micro- and Nanosystems from ETH and p
EP #455 - Joanne Sieber: Switzerland, The Leading Deep Tech Nation
Timestamps:
10:13 - Deep Tech Nation’s ambitious goals for Switzerland
13:48 - Venture Hub Switzerland
19:07 - What’s the Scaleup Booster?
27:35 - How is Deep Tech Nation financed?
38:12 - Do all Swiss startups need to make it big?
This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation.
About Joanne Sieber:
Joanne Sieber is the CEO of the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation, which acts as a catalyst for the Swiss innovation ecosystem. She holds an MA in Internation
EP #454 - Pascal Jenny: Building a Sustainable Tourism Business in Arosa
Timestamps:
3:31 - Athletes are their own entrepreneurs
10:01 - Upfront investments for tourism infrastructure
15:44 - How to host a good event
21:29 - What does sustainability mean in business?
26:30 - Sustainability is not a marketing topic
This episode was co-produced by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Pascal Jenny:
Pascal Jenny is the former managing director and current president at Arosa Tourismus. He holds a BA in business administration f
EP #453 - Samir Ounzain: Unlocking the Power of the Dark Genome
Timestamps:
5:22 - From the UK to Switzerland
11:29 - The dark genome and chronic diseases
17:35 - HTX001 and heart failure
26:44 - Sticking to grants at first
34:32 - Managing two separate teams
This episode was sponsored by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Samir Ounzain:
Samir Ounzain is the co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics, a precision medicines company targeting the regulatory genome for cardiovascular diseases, fibrosis and cancer. He h
EP #452 - Pascal Weber: Why AI Will Free You From Repetitive Work
Timestamps:
1:53 - Accidentally inventing neural networks
7:19 - What does “manukai” mean?
19:44 - Competition in the AI industry
27:35 - Fundraising for AI
32:34 - Does being a spin-off pay off?
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place next year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket.
About Pascal Weber:
Pascal Weber is the co-founder and CEO of Manukai, an ETH spin-off automating repetitive programming tasks by leveraging available production
EP #451 - Nicole Kleger: Why Lab Grown Meat Won’t Kill You
Timestamps:
8:20 - The current state of the lab meat industry
14:10 - Does lab meat have the same nutritional value & taste?
15:40 - Sallea’s go-to-market strategy
17:45 - When all your partners are also startups
20:30 - What happens to the farmers?
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Nicole Kleger:
Nicole Kleger is the co-founder and CTO at sallea, a biotech startup enabling the cultivation of high-va
EP #450 - Gzim Hasani: Building A Holistic Financial Advisory Company
Timestamps:
2:14 - Why go into banking in 2008?
10:52 - Working with college students and retirees
20:00 - How does smzh make money?
24:41 - Sponsoring events to acquire new clients
44:20 - Getting to 60K clients
This episode was co-produced with smzh.
About Gzim Hasani:
Gzim Hasani is the CEO of and a partner at smzh, an independent financial advisory company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. He holds a MSc in Banking and Finance and started his career working for Credit Suisse and Juli
EP #449 - Jürg Jost: Time-of-Flight Tech, from Here to the Moon
Timestamps:
8:03 - Time-of-flight technology
15:43 - Whom do semiconductor companies sell to?
19:14 - Changing from CEO to CTO
29:54 - Managing investor expectations
32:54 - Going to the moon
Check out our FREE go-to-market masterclass with Ankita Mehta and Soumya Dash.
About Jürg Jost:
Jürg Jost is the founder, former CEO and current CTO of the semiconductor manufacturer Spacetek Technology. He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Berner Fachhochschule BFH. Prior to starting Spacetek,
EP #448 - Gaëlle Andreatta: The Alchemists Turning Metal into Foam
Timestamps:
4:38 - Gaëlle’s craziest year
9:56 - Turning metal into foam
16:34 - High innovative customers
25:23 - Hiring people as a 6 month year old company
29:03 - Having the team be 2/3s women
Check out our FREE go-to-market masterclass.
About Gaëlle Andreatta:
Gaëlle Andreatta is the co-founder and CTO of apheros, a startup manufacturing metal foams for thermal, catalysis, and battery applications. She holds a PhD in Physics from Pierre and Marie Curie University and an MBA from ETH/HSG.
EP #447 - Stefan Schärer: Building and Exiting a PropTech Startup in Switzerland
Timestamps:
3:57 - From neuportal to Houzy
10:20 - Building up new revenue streams over time
13:18 - Is Switzerland too small a market?
20:45 - Getting acquired by UBS and Baloise
32:43 - Did they make money out of the deal?
This episode was co-produced with smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Stefan Schärer:
Stefan Schärer is the co-founder and former CEO of the proptech startup Houzy. Stefan previously founded the software company Fairgate and the
EP #446 - Fabio Ronga: The Hard Road to a $300M Valuation
Timestamps:
5:20 - Workaholics having fun
15:35 - Market validation
33:33 - Why Switzerland is the best headquarters
46:19 - Instilling company values
54:30 - Selling 100% of your shares
About Fabio Ronga:
Fabio Ronga is the co-founder and CEO of beqom, a cloud-based compensation management solution. He holds a master's degree in Business Information Systems from HEC Lausanne and previously worked at Hyperion (bought by Oracle) and Outlooksoft (bought by SAP) before starting beqom in 2008.
Toge
EP #445 - Chantal Schmelz: Why This Biotech Startup Failed
Timestamps:
9:05 - Chantal’s current startups
13:19 - Why Chantal joined Rheazymes
14:28 - Recycling textiles with enzymes
22:06 - Knowing it was the end
30:59 - Seeing signals early on
This episode was co-produced with the Female Founders Initiative.
About Chantal Schmelz:
Chantal Schmelz is the Chairwoman of the Board, CFO and now also one of the liquidators of Rheiazymes, a cleantech startup that was aiming to leverage the power of molecular recycling. She holds an MA in Marketing, Servic
EP #444 - Priyanka Dutta Passecker: What If You Healed Chronic Wounds With a Spray?
Check out our FREE go-to-market masterclass with Ankita Mehta and Soumya Dash.
Timestamps:
4:19 - Being an immigrant and being an entrepreneur
7:23 - Convincing your boss to help you start a startup
10:30 - What are chronic wounds?
16:10 - Making personalized therapies affordable
24:00 - The long development cycles in biotech
About Priyanka Dutta Passecker:
Priyanka Dutta Passecker is the co-founder and CEO of Healiva, a biotech startup using advanced cell therapy to treat acute and chronic wo
EP #443 - Andreas Krümmel: Insurance in Switzerland, From the 80s Until Now
Timestamps:
6:05 - The value chain of insurance companies
14:26 - Why having a strategy is essential
20:22 - Is Switzerland digitized enough?
24:22 - Is digitization a generational issue?
35:15 - Being a board member at smzh
This episode was co-produced with smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Andreas Krümmel:
Andreas Krümmel is the former CEO at Generali Switzerland and a current board member at SMZH, an independent partner in all matters related
EP #442 - Alessandro Ofner: How This Microcapsule Tech Can Change Pharma, Cosmetics & Cuisine
Timestamps:
6:45 - What is microencapsulation used for?
13:58 - Choosing a use case vs covering operating expenses
21:53 - Why trust matters most in B2B
27:04 - Why hire an external CEO
28:50 - Founders take themselves too seriously
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Alessandro Ofner:
Alessandro Ofner is the co-founder and co-CEO of Microcaps, a startup developing breakthrough technology to naturally encaps
EP #441 - Regula Buob: How Coaching Helps Swiss Startups Be Successful
Timestamps:
3:00 - Are education and entrepreneurship connected?
13:41 - Switzerland needs growth stage funds
26:20 - Failure culture in Switzerland
33:52 - Female entrepreneurship in Switzerland
41:30 - Where is the Swiss startup ecosystem headed?
This episode was co-produced with the Female Founders Initiative.
About Regula Buob:
Regula Buob is the founder of SoftTec, a consultancy that offers services related to both technical and soft skills. She is also a coach for early stage startups a
EP #440 - Tobias Reichmuth & Marc P. Bernegger: Building Ventures, from Crypto to Longevity
Timestamps:
7:04 - Tackling a new business topic
18:21 - Getting the incentives right
26:18 - The Maximon business model
34:04 - Maintaining focus as a venture builder
37:09 - Longevity predictions
This episode was sponsored by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Tobias Reichmuth & Marc P. Bernegger:
Tobias Reichmuth and Marc P. Bernegger are two serial entrepreneurs and startup investors who together have built Maximon, an incubator for impact
EP #439 - Aurelia Frick: How To Make Your Country More Startup-Friendly
Timestamps:
15:12 - Do high income countries neglect culture?
22:59 - Do we need more societal role models?
24:33 - What role does education play?
30:00 - Liechtenstein’s total blackout
45:09 - What threats are coming Switzerland’s way?
This episode was co-produced by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Aurelia Frick:
Aurelia Frick is an advisory and board member and the former Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein. She’s got a PhD in Law, but her journe
EP #438 - Beni Huggel: Wie ein Athlete Mindset im Geschäftsleben nützlich ist
Timestamps:
0:00 - Die Sinnkriese nach der Karriere
9:20 - Firmen wollen ehemalige Profisportler
20:00 - Das two-sided Platform Model des Athletes Network
32:36 - Was bringt die Zukunft für das Athletes Network
Über Beni Huggel:
Benni Huggel ist Gründer und Head of Sales bei der Athlete's Network, einer Organisation, die Athleten beim Übergang in ihre Nachsportkarriere unterstützt. Der ehemalige Profifussballer spielte für den FC Basel und die Schweizer Nationalmannschaft, für die er über 4
EP #437 - Karolis Arbaciauskas: Why Cybersecurity Should Be a Startup’s 1st Priority
Timestamps:
2:10 - Volunteering and traveling
5:46 - Cybersecurity is for everyone
8:58 - Startups and cybersecurity
10:42 - Why do data breaches happen?
21:02 - Is Europe a good place to build a scaleup?
This episode was co-produced/sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Karolis Arbaciauskas:
Karolis Arbaciauskas is the Head of Product & Business Development at NordPass, a password management solution and part of Nord Se
EP #436 - Samantha Anderson: Creating a Circular Economy for Plastics
Timestamps:
7:13 - The problem with plastic recycling
10:19 - Making plastic recycling cheaper
14:15 - Typical customers for DePoly
18:45 - Going from research to startup
22:12 - Patent strategy and picking your partners
About Samantha Anderson:
Samantha Anderson is the co-founder and CEO at DePoly, a cleantech startup recycling hard-to-recycle plastic. She’s originally from Canada and holds a PhD in Carbon Capture and Storage from EPFL (her studies being the reason she moved to Switzerland).
EP #435 - Silvan Leibacher: Making a Cost-Competitive Vegan Egg Alternative
Timestamps:
3:55 - Making a vegan egg replacement in 2024
5:44 - The team behind the food engineering company
8:52 - The B2B clean label food market
10:42 - Solving big supply chain problems
13:20 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Silvan Leibacher:
Silvan Leibacher is the co-founder and CEO of Eggfield, a startup replacing eggs in the food industry through plant-based and clean label ingredients. He holds a BSc in Business Management from ZHAW, and previously co-founded th
EP #434 - Johannes Tiefenthaler: Why We Need Carbon Capture to Save the Planet
Timestamps:
11:50 - Why not just emit less carbon?
15:33 - Working with concrete recycling plants
24:18 - Biogas and construction sector
29:19 - Splitting roles as a team
About Johannes Tiefenthaler:
Johannes Tiefenthaler is the co-founder and co-CEO of neustark, a cleantech startup deploying carbon dioxide removal technology. He holds a PhD from ETH and started neustark back in 2019.
neustark’s ambition is to remove one million tons of CO2 by 2030. After three years in business, neustark has
EP #433 - Christian Hirt: Virtual Reality Training in Switzerland
Timestamps:
2:33 - Why virtual reality is in a perfect sweet spot
6:10 - The challenge of product-market fit
8:45 - Having a boring competitive landscape
10:29 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Christian Hirt:
Christian Hirt is the co-founder and CEO of AtlasVR, a startup harnessing the power of virtual reality for vocational training. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from ETH and previously worked for Rheinmetal Air Defence and the Swiss Armed Forces before start
EP #432 - Francisco Fernandez: The Universal Banking Platform
Timestamps:
1:59 - AI 30 years ago
6:49 - A universal banking platform
12:35 - Leadership is a skillset
27:19 - Being obsessed with building things
39:09 - Employee participation at Avaloq
About Francisco Fernandez:
Francisco Fernandez is the founder and former CEO of Avaloq, a front-to-back software provider for financial institutions around the world. He holds a MSc in Computer Science from ETH, and was CEO at Avaloq until 2017, chairman from 2018 to 2021, and has been a board member since 2
EP #431 - Greta Preatoni: How to Relieve Pain For Millions Worldwide
Timestamps:
4:50 - Developing brain computer interfaces
10:54 - What is diabetic neuropathy?
16:00 - Dealing with a huge market size
17:50 - The challenges of medtech regulation
19:43 - How patent strategy can make or break you
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative.
About Greta Preatoni:
Greta Preatoni is the co-founder and CEO of Mynerva, a startup developing a groundbreaking device for the treatment of neuropathy. She holds a PhD in Neuroengineering from ETH and
EP #430 - James Rilett: Commodity Trading for the Energy Transition
Timestamps:
1:50 - Why study history
8:24 - Understanding whether risk is mispriced
13:10 - Relocating people to the UAE
16:12 - Sustainability and commodity trading
21:30 - Ideal time for commodity trading
About James Rilett:
James Rilett is the CPTO at Open Mineral, a startup offering metal commodity trade solutions enabled by a commercial and market intelligence platform. He holds a BA in International History from The London School of Economics and Political Science and previously worke
EP #429 - Aurelio Perucca: How to Make Money from Alternative Investments
Timestamps:
2:36 - What are alternative investments?
8:45 - How much to allocate to alternative investments
11:58 - Alternative investing through Splint Invest
16:10 - Choosing top quality investment opportunities
20:27 - How to sell your splints
About Aurelio Perucca:
Aurelio Perucca is the co-founder and CEO of Splint Invest, an alternative investment platform. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bern and previously worked for companies like Stryker and PwC before starting Spli
EP #428 - Jessica Farda: The Future of Green Packaging
Timestamps:
7:54 - From China to Mexico
16:20 - The plastics lobby
22:52 - Finding out your product already exists
36:33 - The Noriwear business model
43:04 - VC money or grants?
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
About Jessica Farda:
Jessica Farda is the co-founder and CEO of Noriware, a cleantech startup producing sustainable packaging materials based on seaweed. She holds a BA in International Affairs from HSG and founded her company in 2021, straight out of university.
The N
EP #427: 4 VCs Discuss Growth Stage Funding
Timestamps:
3:12 - Switzerland is a pharma country
10:20 - When is it time to raise growth VC money?
13:39 - How do investors consider teams?
19:14 - How many shares should you give away?
About Kevin Baxpehler, Diego Braguglia, Harald Nieder & Mike Hobmeier:
Kevin Baxpehler is the managing partner at Remagine Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on media related technology investments in Israeli startups. Diego Braguglia is the managing partner at VI Partners AG, a Swiss venture capital
EP #426 - Tillmann Lang: Can Capitalism Save The Planet?
Timestamps:
3:50 - Banks investing in nuclear weapons
9:15 - Capitalism and climate change
13:00 - Inyova measuring impact
15:14 - How Inyova works
27:33 - Global inequality & climate change
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
About Tillmann Lang:
Tillmann Lang is the co-founder and CEO of Inyova Impact Investing, an investment platform that enables you to achieve your financial goals by investing your savings in a way that is 100% consistent with your values and lifestyle. He
EP #425 - Enzo Wälchli: Building Your Brand on LinkedIn
Timestamps:
1:55 - Leaving corporates for Anybotics
5:30 - Why LinkedIn matters for sales
10:34 - Best content form on LinkedIn
26:29 - The virality of videos on LinkedIn
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
About Enzo Wälchli:
Enzo Wälchli is the CCO at Anybotics, a company providing autonomous robotic inspection solutions, and LinkedIn’s #1 Swiss voice in robotics. He holds an MA in Accounting and Finance from HSG and previously worked at Sulzer and Hilti Schweiz before joining A
EP #424 - Marcel Salathé: Universities Are the Key to Switzerland’s Success
Timestamps:
6:59 - Being humbled by Y Combinator
12:20 - EPFL’s extension school
15:47 - What needs fixing in Switzerland
29:25 - Budget cuts for Swiss universities
39:40 - EPFL AI center
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Marcel Salathé:
Marcel Salathé is a professor at EPFL, startup founder and investor, as well as a digital epidemiologist. He holds a PhD in Biology and Environmental Sciences from ETH, an
EP #423 - Thomas Crawford & Daniel Delouya: Building AI-Powered Insurance
Timestamps:
2:00 - The insurance market so far
5:58 - The rise of AI tools
8:15 - Signing the first 4 commercial agreements
8:47 - Finding AI engineering talent
14:11 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Thomas Crawford & Daniel Delouya:
Thomas Crawford is the co-founder and CEO of Bind, a startup providing AI-powered insurance targeting. He holds a BA in Geography and Economics from Durham University and previously worked for Zurich Insurance before joining Bind as a late co-
EP #422 - Viktor Calabro: How Coople Became Europe's Largest Digital Staffing Platform
Timestamps:
7:18 - Selling your MVP
12:19 - Finding co-founders
16:24 - Not focusing enough on specific markets
27:05 - Scaling too early & stepping down as CEO
37:02 - Employee share programs
About Viktor Calabro:
Viktor Calabro is the founder and former CEO of Coople, Europe's largest digital staffing platform. He previously worked for companies like Trivadis AG and Erlebniskultur GmbH before starting Coople in 2009.
Coople matches flexible workers to short- and long-term assignments
EP #421 - Sean Wassermann & Constantin Marakhov: How to Farm Fish Sustainably
Timestamps:
3:01 - Liquid vs solid fermentation
8:08 - A decade in the cannabis industry
17:04 - Who Kidemis’ clients are
19:48 - The challenge of technological development
21:03 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Sean Wassermann & Constantin Marakhov:
Sean Wassermann is the CTO at Kidemis, a Swiss feedtech company that applies mycelium-based fermentation to upcycle low-value side streams into high value protein for various industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Fi
EP #420 - Yves Béhar: Venture Designing, Entrepreneurship & the Human Spirit
Timestamps:
2:35 - How Switzerland fell short in the 90s
15:00 - Suffering and the creative process
23:21 - The challenge of designing an office chair
31:28 - Design or die
33:30 - What is a venture designer?
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Yves Béhar:
Yves Béhar is a venture designer, the founder of the fuseproject, co-founder of TELO, August, and Canopy, and Chief Creative Officer at Jawbone, August
EP #419 - Myriam Lingg: Making Prosthetics as a For-Profit Company
Timestamps:
2:00 - Getting a PhD in Epidemiology
7:50 - Meeting your co-founder at an ETH project
12:48 - Manufacturing prosthetics
23:43 - Big fundraising challenges
33:59 - Keeping the business floating
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative.
About Myriam Lingg:
Myriam Lingg is the co-founder and CEO of macu4, a startup creating empowering ortho-prosthetics for the forearm and hand. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
EP #418 - Fajer Mushtaq: Deep Climate Tech in Switzerland
Timestamps:
4:00 - Water cleaning in Switzerland
6:42 - Water and the agricultural sector
9:14 - Deep tech requires upfront capital
16:20 - Defending high deep tech valuations
22:14 - Convincing top talent to work for a startup
About Fajer Mushtaq:
Fajer Mushtaq is the co-founder and CEO at Oxyle, a cleantech startup with a game-changing water remediation technology. She holds a PhD in Micro- and Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation from ETH and previously worked there as a BRIDGE Pro
EP #417 - Céline Udriot & Karine Jeanmonod-Wittmer: How to Break Into the American Market
Timestamps:
6:54 - Why is the US the main startup destination?
8:56 - 3 main challenges of moving to the US
19:40 - Should you move your headquarters?
29:18 - How S-GE can help you in the US
This episode was co-produced with Switzerland Global Enterprise. Click here to learn more about the Swisstech pavilion at CES 2025, mentioned at the start of the episode.
About Céline Udriot & Karine Jeanmonod-Wittmer:
Céline Udriot is the COO at Largo.ai, a startup providing next-generation storyt
EP #416 - Liliane Ableitner: Exnaton 2 Years On
Timestamps:
2:20 - Exnaton 2 years on
12:01 - To bootstrap or not to bootstrap
17:42 - Getting funded as a climate tech startup
22:00 - Seasonal impact on client acquisition
23:32 - The benefits of market liberalization
About Liliane Ableitner:
Liliane Ableitner is the co-founder and CEO of Exnaton, a software provider for energy communities, allowing neighbors to trade renewable energy amongst each other. Before starting Exnaton, Liliane was a Doctoral Researcher at the Bits of Energy Lab at E
EP #415 - Matthias Heuberger: Why Breathing is the True Sports Performance Metric
Timestamps:
1:17 - Why Matthias started BreezeLabs
4:01 - The Breezelabs team & being an ETH spin-off
6:21 - Dealing with indirect competition
7:25 - Handling the unknown as a founder
8:31 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Matthias Heuberger:
Matthias Heuberger is the founder and CEO of BreezeLabs, a startup developing a new way to track sports performance. He holds an MA in International Affairs from HSG and previously worked for Zurich Insurance Company and CSS Versic
EP #414 - Mark Streit & Ben Küffer: Der neue Stern am Schweizer Uhrenhimmel
Timestamps:
1:36 - Der steinige Weg von Mark Streit in die NHL
4:32 - Von Breitling zur eigenen Schweizer Uhrenmarke
18:28 - Von wo kennen sich Mark Streit und Ben Küeffer
22:20 - Braucht es wirklich eine neue Schweizer Uhrenmarke?
27:43 - Die Parallelen von Sport und Business
This episode was originally a live conversation recorded at a Sport and Business Network event in October 2023 and presented by Properti, your partner for all real estate transactions.
About Mark Streit & Ben Küffer:
EP #413 - Elena Maran & Angela di Rosa: Simplifying AI Compliance & Expanding to New Markets
Timestamps:
7:13 - Democratizing AI
9:37 - You’re right to be worried about AI
11:38 - The EU AI Regulation Act
20:13 - Expanding to the US
32:30 - How to enter a new market
This episode was co-produced with Switzerland Global Enterprise. Click here to learn more about the SWISS Pavilion at Singapore Fintech Festival 2024, mentioned at the start of the episode.
About Elena Maran & Angela di Rosa:
Elena Maran is the Global Head Financial Services at Modulos AG, an ETH spin-off developing a
EP #412 - Franz Bittmann: We Deserve Better Kids’ Clothes
Timestamps:
7:12 - Growing a company for 20 years
12:13 - Kids fashion should be beautiful
16:20 - Going into untapped markets
23:16 - PFC-free clothing and why it matters
43:36 - How to define success
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
About Franz Bittmann:
Franz Bittmann is the founder and CEO of namuk, the Swiss premium-quality and sustainable outdoor clothing brand for children. After his Matura, Franz started his first clothing brand, eleven GmbH, back in 1998, which lasted u
EP #411 - Lea von Bidder: What Happened to AVA Women?
Timestamps:
4:56 - Having an investor back out
11:45 - Was the AVA exit a good or bad thing?
14:55 - Femtech stopped paying salaries and vendors
21:08 - Moving on to expeerly
30:29 - Is bootstrapping more stressful?
About Lea von Bidder:
Lea von Bidder is the co-founder and former CEO of AVA Women, a femtech startup advancing women’s reproductive health by bringing together artificial intelligence and clinical research. Since 2022 she’s also the founder and CEO at expeerly, a startup which make
EP #410 - Catarina Dahlin: How Pajamas Play a Role in Optimizing Sleep
Timestamps:
1:49 - Innovation in Asian corporates
5:46 - Meeting your husband at a football game
10:30 - Validating pajamas
17:58 - Building a clothing brand in Switzerland
29:34 - The impact of war and weather on sales
About Catarina Dahlin:
Catarina Dahlin is the co-founder and managing director of Dagsmejan, an innovative and sustainable sleepwear brand. She holds a MSc in Business Administration from Lund University and previously worked at Oriflame Cosmetics and Yves Rocher Group before s
EP #409 - Flavio Rump: Lessons in Sales & Marketing from a DeinDeal Founder
Timestamps:
4:00 - The true difference between marketing and sales
5:15 - The first DeinDeal customer
9:05 - Google search and Facebook as sales channel
13:23 - Mixing data with intuition
20:41 - Customer development
Resources Mentioned:
The Four Steps to the Epiphany, Steve Blank
The Mom Test, Rob Fitzpatrick
This episode was co-produced with UBS and ETH Zurich, as part of the Entrepreneurial Backpack Series.
About Flavio Rump:
Flavio Rump is one of the co-founders of DeinDeal, the fam
EP #408 - Miller Mendoza Jiménez: AI to Tackle Global Food Challenges
Timestamps:
8:17 - Building a startup during COVID
16:17 - AI predicting unpredictable climate changes
29:20 - Mindmapping customer problems
44:36 - Bootstrapping when you have to
1:00:11 - Valuing the skill of communication
About Miller Mendoza Jiménez:
Miller Mendoza Jiménez is the co-founder, CTO and Latin America Regional Manager at Grundo, a technology advisory and analytics startup aimed at tackling sustainability challenges globally that can be solved using open data systems, technology-
EP #407 - Jonas Karklys: How Nord Security Became a Leader in Digital Security & Privacy
Timestamps:
6:32 - Race car driving & building a business
11:55 - How NordPass stood out in the market
23:10 - Catering to customers vs staying focused
31:32 - From Lithuania to the world
43:54 - Is Lithuania a startup-friendly country?
Resources mentioned:
Blackbox Thinking, Matthew Syed
Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free with the code “swisspreneur”.
About Jonas Karklys:
Jonas Karklys is the co-founder of Nord Security, and the CEO of its password managem
EP #406 - Danny Chatziprodromou: Breaking Out of the Golden Corporate Cage
Timestamps:
4:09 - Obstacles to innovation in corporates
10:53 - Starting a startup in your 40s
17:00 - Learning to endure pain
19:40 - Financial planning for your startup
27:36 - What if your startup fails?
About Danny Chatziprodromou:
Danny Chatziprodromou is the founder and CEO of REOR20, a company developing the next generation of models providing highly accurate flood hazard information at a significantly lower cost. He holds a PhD in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Mechanical Engineering
EP #405 - Christoph Bertschy & Gaël Riesen: How to Make Water Free & Profitable
Timestamps:
5:20 - Making a business out of free water
8:12 - Competition in the advertising world
10:00 - The decrease in the quality of online advertising
13:09 - Distributing 25K bottles
17:21 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Christoph Bertschy & Gaël Riesen:
Gaël Riesen is a co-founder and the Head of Production/Distribution at Gratiswasser, and his co-founder Christoph Bertschy is the owner of the company. Gratiswasser is a startup placing ads in free water bottle
EP #404 - Matthias Bryner: Why You Should Start Investing
Timestamps:
1:30 - Working for neon
10:22 - Why you should start investing
15:41 - Start investing with findependent
21:44 - Fee structure
36:26 - 5 principles for personal finance
Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free by using the code “swisspreneur”.
About Matthias Bryner:
Matthias Bryner is the founder of findependent, an app to make investing transparent, easy and beneficial for everyone, regardless of prior knowledge. He holds an MA in Banking and Finance from HS
EP #403 - Linus Gabrielsson & Pedro Schmidt: Creating the Perfect Sports Drink & Crowdfunding as a Startup
Timestamps:
8:49 - Pivoting your marketing
12:17 - The key ingredients for sports recovery
17:43 - Distributing through several channels
23:22 - Importing CONDA to Switzerland
33:25 - Developing crowdfunding momentum
This episode was co-produced with CONDA.ch. If you want to invest in CONDA.ch with preferential conditions, contact them at investor@conda.ch.
About Pedro Schmidt & Linus Gabrielsson:
Pedro Schmidt is the founder and CEO of KaEx, the world’s first sports-recovery drink to signi
EP #402 - Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual: Stopping Non-Genetic Cancer Drug Resistance
Timestamps:
5:15 - Having a co-founder pass away
10:33 - Drug resistance and cancer patients
18:24 - Clinical development
23:17 - Raising a series A as a biotech
26:43 - Striking partnerships
Check out the LinkedIn event for our livestream with Aurelio Perucca on May 22nd.
About Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual:
Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual is the co-founder and CEO at TOLREMO Therapeutics, a biotech startup on a mission to prevent non-genetic cancer drug resistance. She holds a PhD in Molecular and
EP #401 - Eric Laudet: Holistic Healthcare On The Rise
Timestamps:
1:45 - Leaving Batmaid for Holistiq
8:52 - Holistiq’s incredible traction
10:05 - The healthcare market
12:10 - Hiring the right people as a startup
13:58 - Raising funds through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
Click here to apply to join our 2024 Lausanne Scaleup Cruise.
About Eric Laudet:
Eric Laudet is the founder and CEO of Holistiq, a startup offering an organic and personalized approach to healthcare which aims to solve health issues at their root, instead of just treating sympto
EP #400 - Pascal Bieri: Catching Up with Planted’s Incredible Growth Journey
Timestamps:
1:42 - The food industry
11:20 - Ensuring quality across suppliers
16:41 - Maintaining a high shelf life
26:10 - Markets Planted is tackling next
33:20 - Small pivots over time
About Pascal Bieri:
Pascal Bieri is the co-founder of Planted, a startup creating healthy plant-based meat alternatives. He holds an MA in Informations-, Media- and Technology Management from the University of St Gallen, and previously worked in companies like SweetWorks Confections and DeepTech Capital AG be
EP #399 - Matthias Kaech & Adrian Riedo: Why IP Protection Matters to Startups
Timestamps:
3:49 - Startups & IP rights
8:56 - Trademarks and patents
17:45 - Startups getting into IP trouble
25:58 - Protecting your IP globally
33:34 - Open source code
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 30th 2024. Click here to purchase your ticket.
About Matthias Kaech & Adrian Riedo:
Adrian Riedo is the founder and owner of RNX, short for Riedo Networks, a provider and distributor of energy monitoring and control solution
EP #398 - Anina Lutz: Digitizing Insurance
Timestamps:
1:48 - Getting into the insurance business
8:47 - The potential of digital insurance solutions
19:50 - The health insurance market
29:24 - Collaborating with other insurance companies
32:57 - Convertible loan over equity rounds
Check out the LinkedIn event for our livestream with Aurelio Perucca on May 22nd: https://www.linkedin.com/events/makingmoneyfromalternativeinves7191374767680057345/theater/
About Anina Lutz:
Anina Lutz is the co-founder and CEO of Calingo Insurance AG, a di
EP #397 - Oliver & Denis Widler: The Twin Brothers Building a PetTech Startup
Timestamps:
1:25 - Starting a business with your twin
5:19 - The PetTech market
9:46 - From prototype to finished product
15:33 - Building a startup as a student
19:00 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
Click here to apply to join our Founders Dinner in Bern on May 30th.
About Oliver Widler & Denis Widler:
Denis Widler is the co-founder and Head of Business Relations at Flappie, a startup building an AI-powered cat door with integrated prey detection. He holds a Master’s de
EP #396 - Melanie Kovacs: How to Stop Hesitating & Start Building a Business
Timestamps:
5:10 - Starting a startup right after university
9:06 - Hesitation & entrepreneurship
13:09 - Knowing if you’re ready
18:15 - Practicing to be ready
25:00 - Giving up on a project
Click here to apply to join our Founders Dinner in Bern on May 30th.
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative and recorded at the Female Future Festival.
Resources mentioned:
Positive Intelligence, Shirzad Chamine
Positive Intelligence assessment
Untamed, Glennon Doyle
Brené
EP #395 - Diego Seitz: The GotCourts Hybrid
Timestamps:
1:32 - Interning at Namics
14:31 - What GotCourts does
22:34 - The paddle tennis boom
28:25 - Building traction outside Switzerland
36:58 - Getting acquired by a competitor
Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free.
About Diego Seitz:
Diego Seitz is the co-founder and former CEO at GotCourts, a social network for racket sports players and marketplace for booking courts and coaches. He holds a MSc in International Management from CEMS as well as a MSc in Strateg
EP #394 - Gianluca Cesari: How Sevensense Got Acquired By ABB
Timestamps:
1:39 - What changed from 2020 to 2024
4:06 - 8 co-founders from start to finish
7:36 - Finding the right focus
13:33 - Selling to robot manufacturers
19:58 - Getting acquired by ABB
About Gianluca Cesari:
Gianluca Cesari is a co-founder and the CBDO of Sevensense Robotics, a robotics ETH spin-off which empowers mobile robots to move into public and dynamic spaces, supporting humans in the execution of dirty, dangerous and dull tasks. Gianluca holds a master’s degree in Robotics, Sy
EP #393 - Adrien Treccani: SaaS to Manage Your Digital Assets
Timestamps:
12:02 - Breaking down crypto
17:50 - B2Banks and financial institutions
29:23 - Being a solo founder against your will
38:35 - Hiring senior people for a startup
42:00 - A USD 250M exit
About Adrien Treccani:
Adrien Treccani is the founder and CEO of Metaco, an enterprise technology company whose mission is to enable financial and non-financial institutions to securely build their digital asset operations. He holds a PhD in Finance from the SFI (Swiss Finance Institute) and previous
EP #392 - Daniel Gutierrez & Francois Smuts: The Gap in Women’s Reproductive Health
Timestamps:
1:17 - Brought together by wine
3:21 - Declining fertility rates in Europe
8:12 - How the team came together
10:38 - Guys working on women’s health?
17:58 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Daniel Gutierrez & Francois Smuts:
Francois Smuts is the co-founder and managing director of BioNexus, a healthcare company focused on creating cutting edge wearable diagnostics. He holds a Global Masters of Public Health from Imperial College London and was a Medical
EP#391 - Lisa Stähli & Fabienne Lorenz: How Role Models Drive Women to Tech
Timestamps:
2:57 - What Girls in Tech is
6:35 - Deciding to become a female engineer
11:40 - The importance of role models
24:20 - The benefit of having a female network
25:44 - The future of Girls in Tech
About Lisa Stähli & Fabienne Lorenz:
Lisa Stähli is a board member and Head of Press at Girls in Tech Switzerland, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the gender gap in tech. She holds a MSc in Geomatics Engineering from ETH and is currently a Product Engineering Lead at t
EP #390 - Pascale Vonmont & Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler: Why Swiss Innovation Isn’t Living Up to Its Full Potential
Timestamps:
2:10 - 25 years of Swiss entrepreneurship
3:01 - The Kick Fund
10:38 - The problem of segmented startup initiatives
17:40 - The 4 areas of Deep Tech Switzerland
24:06 - The role of the Swiss government
About Pascale Vonmont & Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler:
Pascale Vonmont is the director of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, and Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler is the non-executive vice-president at Swisscom, and a former member of its Group Executive Board.
Gebert Rüf Stiftung is one of the in
EP #389 - S. Manoj Harasgama: From Working at Shell to Building a ClimateTech Startup
Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod
Timestamps:
3:50 - Being part of the Groupon story
13:05 - Getting a climate wake-up call
15:47 - From working for Shell to climate tech
17:46 - The problem Manoj is solving
20:19 - Pros and cons of hydrogen
About S. Manoj Harasgama:
S. Manoj Harasgama is a serial entrepreneur and startup investor. He’s been the founder/MD at Treatwell, Unleash12, a venture capital company and JOIN.com, and
EP #388 - Nicole Colmenares Pulido: How to Make Prosthetics Accessible Worldwide
Timestamps:
2:41 - The neglected field of disability care
5:09 - Making money as an impact startup
9:30 - Circleg’s magic team
15:33 - Managing startup growth
18:20 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Nicole Pulido:
Nicole Colmenares Pulido is the co-founder and Head of Business Development & Finance at Circleg, a Swiss startup providing affordable and high-quality prosthetics to low and middle income countries across the world. Nicole holds a master’s degree in Business
EP #387 - Jonas Urwyler & Nico Hauschke: How to Make Fishing Sustainable
Timestamps:
4:52 - Hooked by the fishing industry
6:56 - Why the market timing was right
14:15 - Product help from Innosuisse
16:15 - 99% of fishing products are produced in Asia
19:34 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Jonas Urwyler & Nico Hauschke:
Jonas Urwyler is the co-founder and CEO at Capt’n Greenfin, a fishing goods company striving to make fishing sustainable. He holds an MBA from the University of Freiburg and previously worked for companies like VZ Vermögen
EP #386 - Ansuya Ahluwalia: From India, to Silicon Valley, to Swisspreneur
Timestamps:
3:08 - Studying in India and the US
20:54 - Starting Anamii
34:00 - The exit coming as a surprise
43:58 - How Ansuya joined Swisspreneur
55:50 - What thirty3 does
About Ansuya Ahluwalia:
Ansuya Ahluwalia is a co-founder of the wellness and inner transformation app Anamii and the CTO and Business Partner of thirty3, which helps companies with innovative product development by building AI-first applications. She holds a MSc in Computer Science from UCLA and previously worked for compa
EP #385 - Alex Ilic: The AI Takeover, in Switzerland & Abroad
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 30th 2024. Click here to purchase your ticket.
Timestamps:
7:39 - Why the tech giants should watch out
12:52 - Are the crazy AI valuations justified?
19:26 - Ethical challenges of AI
20:30 - The AI act & other regulation
23:10 - The Swiss supercomputer
About Alexander Ilic:
Alex Ilic is the co-founder and executive director of the ETH AI Center, one of the world's largest hubs for research in
EP #384 - Seraina Soldner: Migrants in Switzerland & Social Impact Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
1:31 - Being interested in social impact work
11:06 - The background of SINGA applicants
16:27 - Who funds SINGA
29:42 - Does the world share the Swiss fear of failure?
42:57 - Knowing when to move on
About Seraina Soldner:
Seraina Soldner is the co-founder and former co-director of SINGA Switzerland, an incubator for projects built by people with a refugee or migrant experience, and currently a project manager at Hospital at Home Verein (hospitales). She holds an MA in Internati
EP #383 - David Christen: How to Eradicate Illegal Work in Switzerland
Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod
Timestamps:
6:06 - Getting the funds to start your venture
11:09 - Illegal work in Switzerland
27:55 - Deeptech Switzerland
40:03 - Raising funds in 2012
42:38 - The downsides of VC money
About David Christen:
David Christen is the co-founder and CMO at quitt, a company that takes the effort, paperwork and stress out of employing domestic helpers for private households, and quitt.business, a platform for th
EP #382 - Stefan Kyora & Thomas Heimann: How Did The Swiss Startup Ecosystem Do in 2023?
Timestamps:
2:20 - The Swiss ecosystem in the last 10 years
11:05 - Why are tradesales down?
19:19 - The rise of the Romandie
21:35 - How Switzerland compares to other startup hubs
28:17 - Going public in the US vs CH
About Stefan Kyora & Thomas Heimann:
Stefan Kyora is editor-in-chief at startupticker.ch, the leading Swiss news portal for startups, supporters, innovators and investors, and holds a PhD in Philosophy and Business Ethics from the University of Konstanz. Thomas Heimann is
EP #381 - Cris Grossmann: A CEO’s Evolving Role
Timestamps:
1:20 - From 2 to 220 employees
3:50 - A founder’s motivation
7:45 - A leader’s biggest lesson
10:20 - Your support network as a founder
14:25 - A CEO’s evolving role
About Cristian Grossmann:
Cristian Grossmann is the co-founder and Head Bee at beekeeper, the well-known Swiss frontline operating system. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from ETH and worked for companies like ChromaCon and Accenture before starting beekeeper in 2011.
During his 12 years at beekeeper
EP #380 - Samuel Mueller: Scandit Lessons in Scaling
Timestamps:
2:40 - Samuel’s biggest mistake
8:01 - Expanding to the US instead of DACH
10:10 - Growing your headcount
13:37 - OKRs at Scandit
18:38 - Staying healthy and sane as a founder
About Samuel Mueller:
Samuel Mueller is the co-founder and CEO at Scandit, the leading technology platform for mobile computer vision and augmented reality (AR) solutions for enterprises. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and Temporal Logics from ETH Zurich. Together with Christian Floerkermeier and Christo
EP #379 - Ana Montalban-Arques: Treating Cancer with Bacteria
Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod
Timestamps:
5:20 - Going from researcher to entrepreneur
8:57 - How bacteria kills cancer
15:14 - Proof of concept in biotech
17:56 - Avenues after a tradesale
24:13 - Entrepreneurship and motherhood
About Ana Montalban-Arques:
Ana Montalban-Arques is co-founder and CEO of Recolony, a biotech startup developing a bacteria-based oral therapy to treat cancer. She holds a PhD in Medicine from
EP #378 - Philippe Greinacher & Alexander Häberlin: Why Your Next Hike Needs Coffee From A Tube
Timestamps:
8:13 - Why Nestlé isn’t doing what they’re doing
11:50 - Why the timing was right for new coffee
18:00 - Straying from the classical Swiss path
23:18 - Developing the nonormal MVP with partners
27:00 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Philippe Greinacher & Alexander Häberlin:
Philippe Greinacher is the co-founder and CEO of nonormal, a startup producing sustainable, high-quality coffee for outdoor consumption — that comes in a tube! He holds a BA in Business A
EP #377 - Roger Dudler & Dennis Just: Growing Through Acquisition
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Timestamps:
3:50 - Deciding to acquire TwicPics
16:30 - The smallpdf fuckup
20:37 - Integrating two cultures
26:20 - When to start thinking about acquisitions
32:50 - Resorting to investment banks
About Roger Dudler & Dennis Just:
On August 29th the Swisspreneur community got together for the third edition of its annual Zurich Scaleup Cruise, sponsored by Swisscom Ventures, SIX, UBS, MLL an
EP #376 - Holger Seim: The Blinkist Story
Timestamps:
7:03 - Their passion for Blinkist
12:33 - Losing co-founders
25:30 - The value Blinkist provides
33:56 - Going B2C and B2B
43:30 - From early adopters to mainstream user base
About Holger Seim:
Holger Seim is the co-founder and former CEO at Blinkist, the mobile-first microlearning app. He holds a diploma from the Philipp University of Marburg and previously worked for companies like Volkswagen Group China and Deutsche Telekom before starting Blinkist in 2012.
Blinkist was created d
EP #375 - Nicolas Egger: Fixing the Mental Health Care Industry
Timestamps:
2:02 - From footballer to banker to student
10:35 - The emotional toll of a volatile startup journey
20:42 - Sorting out shares before you leave
41:00 - Getting good psychologists on Aepsy
54:00 - Going B2C first, then B2B
About Nicolas Egger:
Nicolas Egger is the co-founder of Poinz, a B2B2C platform for SMEs, and of Aepsy, a mental health platform for online or in-person sessions with psychologists. He holds a BASc in General Management from ZHAW. Prior to university, Nicolas pla
EP #374 - Murielle Schreck: The ETH Spin-Off Making Futuristic Heating Pads
Timestamps:
4:25 - Three technical co-founders
6:37 - Completing Venture Kick
8:34 - qCella’s heated mats
10:25 - The challenge of finding the right people
12:28 - Having two rather different products
About Murielle Schreck:
Murielle Schreck is the co-founder and CEO at qCella, an ETH spin-off impregnating natural fibers with copper and using them to develop heating pads with superior properties compared to commercially available heating wires. She holds a PhD in Materials Science from ETH an
EP #373 - Sven Erni: Circular, Upcycled Acoustic Solutions
Timestamps:
14:08 - Running out of money
18:50 - Choosing loans over equity
19:55 - Ensuring sustainability across the supply chain
25:17 - Boycotting the 5 biggest plastic polluters
42:05 - Sharing margin with resellers
About Sven Erni:
Sven Erni is the co-founder and CEO at Impact Acoustic, a Swiss provider of high-performance, circular acoustic solutions made from upcycled material. He holds a BSc in International Hotel Management from EHL, Lausanne, and previously worked for companies like
EP #372 - Thomas Zurbuchen: Startups & NASA: Braving the Unknown
Get tickets to Scaleup Slopes 2024 here.
Timestamps:
4:26 - Getting kicked out of home
16:00 - Immigrants and entrepreneurs
20:56 - Getting a job offer from NASA
39:35 - Startups and space missions
43:39 - Leaving NASA
About Thomas Zurbuchen:
Thomas Zurbuchen is a professor at ETH Space and the former Head of Science at NASA. He was born in 1968 in the canton of Bern, son of a Free Church preacher who did not want him to attend university to study Astrophysics. Thomas went against his father
EP #371 - Pascal Koenig & Sophie Lamparter: A Fundraising Masterclass in 40 Minutes
Timestamps:
3:53 - How to know if you’re ‘investable’
6:49 - Getting in touch with investors
8:08 - How much equity to give away
13:48 - Equity round or convertible loan?
37:16 - Celebrating a closed round
About Pascal Koenig & Sophie Lamparter:
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage Swiss climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Media Studies from ZHAW.
Pascal Koen
EP #370 - Mallory Houston Nieman: Switzerland’s First Indoor Cycling Studio
Get tickets to Scaleup Slopes 2024 here.
Timestamps:
3:40 - Culture shock from moving to Switzerland
12:26 - Being a solo founder
20:43 - Expanding yourself vs franchising
28:05 - Acquiring silent partners
36:00 - Benefits of expanding slowly
About Mallory Houston Nieman:
Mallory Houston Nieman is the owner and operator of Velocity, Switzerland’s first indoor cycling studio. She holds a BA in English & Psychology from Cornell University and an MBA from Swiss Business School, Kloten, and pr
EP #369 - Mario Michan: Targeting Tough-To-Decarbonize Industries
Timestamps:
1:50 - Joining the Navy
9:53 - Being a solo founder with a mentor
25:30 - Creating sustainability incentives
35:41 - Expanding to Norway and the USA
42:04 - Participating in the Sparks IPO Academy
About Mario Michan:
Mario Michan is the co-founder and CEO of Daphne Technology, a climate deep tech company reducing air pollution produced by the global shipping industry. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia and previously worked as a research scientist at
EP #368 - Michael Waldner: Buying and Selling Renewable Energy
Timestamps:
1:27 - Renewable energy in 2008
10:02 - The volatility of the energy market
16:00 - Renewables subsidies on their way out
25:18 - Growing pains as a company
31:53 - Raising funds in an unideal context
About Michael Waldner:
Michael Waldner is the co-founder and CEO at Pexapark, a provider of energy risk and portfolio management capabilities for renewable energy. He holds a MSc in Industrial Management and Manufacturing Engineering from ETH and previously worked at companies like E
Swisspreneur Show Trailer 2024
We interview Switzerland’s most talented founders, business leaders and innovators. Listen to the trailer of Switzerland’s #1 podcast for entrepreneurs.
EP #367 - Loris Niederberger: Why Your Team Management Needs a Software
Timestamps:
1:13 - Accidentally ending up in China
9:04 - Psychological safety at work
18:50 - Publicly disclosing your pricing
28:10 - Getting the first customers
36:00 - Doubting if you’ll make it
About Loris Niederberger:
Loris Niederberger is the co-founder of Moodtalk, a software for clarity and structure on how teams work together successfully. He holds an MA in International Management from CEMS and previously worked for companies like swissnex China and Voliro Airborne Robotics before s
EP #366 - Philippe Ganz & Paulina Grnarova: The Art of the Start
Timestamps:
7:40 - High energy, high loyalty and high intelligence
13:46 - When a co-founder leaves
19:57 - The point of an MVP
32:08 - Grants or equity?
39:05 - Plans for future expansion
About Philippe Ganz & Paulina Grnarova:
Paulina Grnarova is the co-founder and CEO of DeepJudge, an AI-powered Knowledge Search for legal professionals. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from ETH. Philippe Ganz is the CEO and co-founder of aiEndoscopic, a medtech startup combining artificial intelligenc
EP #365 - Adrian Melliger: The Electromobility One-Stop-Shop
Timestamps:
6:44 - eMobility back in 2008
7:39 - CO2 impact of electric vehicles
8:56 - Sourcing the minerals sustainably & ethically
15:58 - Life after death, for batteries
25:00 - Partnering with Volvo
About Adrian Melliger:
Adrian Melliger is the co-owner and CEO of Designwerk Technologies, an electromobility one-stop-shop. He previously worked for companies like Swissport and Ground Handling Team Holding before joining Designwerk in 2018.
Designwerk was founded back in 2008, after its
EP #364 - Reto Naef: Disruptive Therapies for Aging Diseases
Timestamps:
13:03 - The birth of TOPADUR
18:07 - Leaving the cushy life for entrepreneurship
23:26 - TOPADUR’s drug development
30:36 - Financing pharma
38:08 - Sparks IPO Academy
About Reto Naef:
Reto Naef is the founder and former CEO of TOPADUR PHARMA AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapies for aging diseases. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from ETH and an MBA from UZH and previously worked for pharma companies like Sandoz and Novartis before starting TOPADUR in 2015.
EP #363 - Vivek Dogra, Arijana Walcott, Lukas André & Dominique Gruhl: VCs on Stage
Timestamps:
6:29 - Looking for investors for your fund
13:08 - Managing investor relationships
19:56 - Deeptech in Europe
22:55 - Investing in very early stage companies
30:23 - Increasing legislation
About Vivek Dogra, Arijana Walcott, Lukas André & Dominique Gruhl:
Vivek Dogra is a venture partner at the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, the leading investment fund dedicated to growth-stage companies and projects within the European Bioeconomy. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Ele
EP #362 - Christian Fischer: From Building Skis to Building a Company
Timestamps:
8:37 - From building skis to building a company
14:55 - Losing half your co-founders
28:42 - Pricing materials
39:44 - Handling sales after the CCO leaves
45:56 - Doing an IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange
About Christian Fischer:
Christian Fischer is the co-founder and CEO at Bcomp, a global leader in advanced renewable material solutions. He holds a PhD in Materials Science from EPFL and previously worked at the aluminum products manufacturer Constellium before founding Bcomp in 2011.
EP #361 - Fabian Gerber & Jan Luescher: From Startup to IPO
Timestamps:
4:22 - Why do an IPO/direct listing?
9:15 - When should you pursue an IPO/direct listing?
15:39 - Where should you list your company?
20:37 - The Sparks IPO Academy
26:44 - Direct listing mistakes
About Fabian Gerber & Jan Luescher:
Jan Luescher is the CEO at ASMALLWORLD, an exclusive travel & lifestyle community. He previously worked as a Principal at Bain & Company and holds a MA in Strategy and International Management from HSG. Fabian Gerber is a Senior Relationshi
EP #360 - Sarah Harbarth: Building Biobased, Biodegradable Materials
Timestamps:
1:10 - Microplastics and food waste
5:25 - The kuori team
6:30 - Raising 2.3M
8:30 - The biobased & biodegradable USP
12:23 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur syndicate
About Sarah Harbarth:
Sarah Harbarth is the co-founder and CEO of kuori, a B2B enterprise providing eco-friendly alternative-plastic granules for fashion, outdoor equipment, tools, and toys. She holds a BA in Industrial Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, and was w
EP #359 - Markus Witte: Building a Successful Founding Team
Timestamps:
3:20 - Solo founding or co-founder team?
8:37 - “Why are we doing this?”
11:58 - Hiring in the early days
16:50 - Knowing when to pivot
26:47 - Early stage startups are falling apart
About Markus Witte:
Markus Witte is the chairman and co-founder of Babbel, the market leading app for language learning, as well as a partner at Wachstumsbegleitung, which offers coaching and consulting for scaling startups. He holds an MA in Cultural Studies from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and pre
EP #358 - Marco Rodzynek: The Conference for Digital, Sustainable, Profitable Startups
Timestamps:
2:40 - 90 M&A deals and the 2008 crash
6:41 - NOAH coming to Switzerland
12:43 - NOAH speakers’ valuation increased 24x
19:34 - Profitability of cleantech
29:04 - Rapid fire questions
About Marco Rodzynek:
Marco Rodzynek is the founder and CEO at NOAH Conference, an annual event with an unique line up of digital champions and sustainability market leaders. Marco previously worked at Lehman Brothers, where he was involved in 90+ M&A deals, before starting NOAH Conference and
EP #357 - Sophie Lamparter: Fundraising in 2023
Timestamps:
4:55 - Current global fundraising environment
8:23 - The bet on climatetech
17:48 - How funds raise funds
32:45 - Calculating ROI
42:10 - Getting in touch with DART Labs
About Sophie Lamparter:
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage Swiss climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Media Studies from ZHAW.
During this episode with us she discussed the current fu
EP #356 - Arijana Walcott: Q&A with a DART Labs Founder
Timestamps:
4:03 - Is my company VC-backable?
7:04 - How to find investors
22:48 - What makes a good pitch deck
28:26 - Picking a bad VC
36:45 - Raising funds is getting harder
About Arijana Walcott:
Arijana Walcott is a co-founder and managing partner at DART Labs, together with former Swisspreneur guest Sophie Lamparter. DART invests in early stage startups from Switzerland and Europe and helps them test and scale their ideas in San Francisco. Arijana holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Ge
EP #355 - Georg Hirschi: Flipping the Roles in Job Search
Timestamps:
1:08 - Moving to Australia
7:30 - Shift from corporate to founder
16:50 - Reversing roles in job search
30:30 - How to keep contracts on FOUND
36:43 - Starting out bootstrapped
About Georg Hirschi:
Georg Hirschi is the co-founder and strategy lead at FOUND, a startup bringing the digital consumer revolution to hiring. He holds an MA in Applied Sciences, Commerce & Business Administration from UZH, and previously worked at companies like PeopleScout and Lee Hecht Harrison bef
EP #354 - Anna Grassler, Cristian Grossmann & Sven Jakelj: Culture Evolving Over Time
Timestamps:
5:01 - What does culture mean?
12:00 - Making exceptions to culture
15:00 - Measuring culture
20:48 - Dealing with a poor value fit
36:05 - Hiring family and friends
About Anna Grassler, Cristian Grossmann & Sven Jakelj:
Anna Grassler is co-CEO at FELFEL, a company changing the way people eat at work. She holds a masters in Management & Social Entrepreneurship from ESCP Business School and previously worked for companies like L’Oréal and Gärtnerei before joining FELFEL i
EP #353 - Nikos Kariotoglou: AI Cameras Are Here
Timestamps:
12:30 - Taking your baby out of the lab
24:20 - Getting the timing right
29:55 - Acquiring inbound leads
36:27 - How the team changes over the years
41:56 - Selling Seervision
About Nikos Kariotoglou:
Nikos Kariotoglou is the co-founder and CEO at Seervision, an industry pioneer in AI-driven camera automation software to enable effective hybrid collaboration in corporate boardrooms or lecture halls. He holds a PhD in Control Engineering from ETH and a M.Eng in Electrical and Electro
EP #352 - Sophie Lamparter, Daniel Gutenberg & Christina Vallgren: Fundraising from the Startup and Investor Perspective
Timestamps:
6:30 - Combining STEM and business
8:50 - The fundraising environment
16:19 - Fundraising and keeping the boat afloat
19:27 - What makes a great pitch deck
35:13 - Should investors sit on a company’s board?
About Sophia Lamparter, Daniel Gutenberg & Christina Vallgren:
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage European climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Me
EP #351 - Tanja Koch: Your First Startup Team
Timestamps:
6:44 - Why the founder team is the key ingredient
13:30 - Starting entrepreneurship part-time
15:50 - Splitting shares among founders
24:03 - Attracting senior people to your startup
31:30 - Closing a round amid a crisis
About Tanja Koch:
Tanja Koch is a co-founder at Amplo, a no code platform that makes AI easy and accessible to service and operation departments. She holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zürich and previously worked for companies like LEVITRONIX and 9T
EP #350 - Urs Hölzle: Google’s Employee #8
Timestamps:
1:52 - When should Swiss startups go to the US?
9:05 - Meeting the Google founders
12:47 - How to scale culture
23:27 - Current AI developments
28:04 - Leaving Silicon Valley
About Urs Hölzle:
Urs Hölzle is SVP of Engineering at Google, having started there in 1999 as their first Search Engine Mechanic and altogether 8th employee. Prior to Google, he started his own company Animorphic LLC in 1994 following the completion of his PhD in Computer Science at Stanford, and later worked
EP #349 - Rodrigo Fraga-Silva: An Innovative Approach to Erectile Dysfunction
Timestamps:
1:03 - The problem of erectile dysfunction
5:38 - What Comphya can do for patients
9:26 - Doing pilot clinical trials
12:18 - Competition for true innovators
13:40 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Rodrigo Fraga-Silva:
Rodrigo Fraga-Silva is the co-founder and CEO at Comphya, a Swiss medical device company and EPFL spin-off with the mission to help patients overcome erectile dysfunction through an innovative neurostimulating implant. He holds a PhD in Pharma
EP #348 - Herbert Bay: Product Building from Start to Finish
Timestamps:
2:20 - 4 lessons from 3 ventures
6:40 - The ideation stage
12:30 - An MVP cannot be simple enough
24:40 - User survey tools
27:50 - Do users know what they want?
About Herbert Bay:
Herbert Bay is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and board member. He co-founded the image-recognition platform kooaba, the AR company Shortcut and the mental health tracker Earkick, where he is currently still active. He holds a PhD in Computer Vision from ETH Zurich and is the original author of
EP #347 - Canay Deniz: Systematizing Luck to Push Sales
Timestamps:
11:31 - How taking a break helps you have new ideas
21:20 - AI’s role in Ren
27:38 - From Switzerland to the US
34:18 - Iterative product-market fit
41:31 - Acquiring Fortune 500 companies as customers
About Canay Deniz:
Canay Deniz is the co-founder and CEO at Ren, the intelligence tool that alerts you of actionable news about clients, prospects, and key contacts and helps you reach out in a timely and meaningful way. Canay holds a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Business fro
EP #346 - Roland Brack: Der Weg zu Brack.ch
Timestamps:
8.37 - Start des Onlineshops in 1997
16.37 - Übernahme von Alltron
31.08 - Neues Logistikzentrum von Brack
37.48 - Fehlt Schweizern Mut zum Risiko?
47.23 - Warum Sologründer?
Über Roland Brack:
Roland Brack ist Gründer des Onlinehändlers Brack.ch sowie Gründer und Inhaber der Firmengruppe Competec.
1994 gründete er studienbegleitend die Einzelfirma Brack Consulting. 1997 lancierte Brack unter brack.ch seinen Onlineshop, der sich in den folgenden Jahren zu einer der umsatzstärksten E
EP #345 - Adrian Krebs: AI & the Boom of Unstructured Data
Timestamps:
2:36 - Rapid growth in unstructured data
6:53 - Reaching CHF 100K ARR in 8 months
8:48 - The competitor landscape
12:53 - Facing the diversity of data structures
13:57 - Kadoa’s deal on the Swisspreneur Syndicate
About Adrian Krebs:
Adrian Krebs is the co-founder and CEO at Kadoa, a SaaS company providing AI-powered data extraction. He holds a MAS in Information Technology from Berner Fachhochschule BFH and previously built the shopping guide Looria.
Together with his co-founders, J
EP #344 - Tim Beck: Using AI to Automate ERP Processes
Timestamps:
06:34 - Why all staff get their own shares
09:59 - Explaining how their automation works
15:45 - BLP Digital’s Business model
19:56 - How they validate business ideas
29:19 - Their experience of bootstrapping
About Tim Beck:
Tim Beck is the co-founder at BLP Digital, an ETH and HSG spin-off that uses AI to automate ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) processes. He attended both RWTH Aachen University and Georgia Tech. Before starting BLP Digital, he worked as a strategy consultant an
EP #343 - Tim Duehrkoop: The Green Impact of Finance
Timestamps:
06:07 - How Swiss investment markets have changed
9:16 - Why Tim chose forests
15:59 - How startups can operate better in the climate space
20:46 - Explaining ‘Green’ terms
29:27 - Who are Xilva’s competitors?
About Tim Duehrkoop:
Tim Duehrkoop is the co-founder and CEO of Xilva, a cleantech startup building the digital infrastructure for forestry investments with a focus on enabling funding through holistic project assessments. He received a PhD from HSG in Business Administration
EP #342 - Simon Krähenbühl & Silvia Nadenbousch: Swiss-Made Eyewear for a Sustainable Future
Timestamps:
3:20 - Competitor quality vs quantity
6:06 - The ILEVE founding team
11:07 - Standing for Swiss quality
16:58 - The growing pains of startups
20:04 - The ILEVE deal on the Swisspreneur syndicate
About Simon Krähenbühl and Silvia Nadenbousch:
Simon Krähenbühl and Silvia Nadenbousch are the co-founders of ILEVE OPTICS, an eyewear brand which consists of two separate lines: LARS Brillen, a prescription and sunglasses B2B brand sold to opticians across Switzerland, and ILEVE DISTRICT, a
EP #341 - Daniel Meyer & Marie So: Stylish and Sustainable
This episode was sponsored by quitt.business.
Timestamps:
02:18 - Their career backgrounds
06:25 - Starting a company with a romantic partner
12:57 - Convincing customers to buy their product
20:37 - Importance of customer experience
30:17 - How did acquisition change their view on growth?
About Daniel Meyer and Marie So:
Daniel Meyer and Marie So are the co-founders and CEO and CSO, respectively, of EGO Movement. EGO Movement was founded in 2015 and provides smart, connected mobility solutions
EP #340 - Jon Eisler: Providing Telemedicine for Every Man
Timestamps:
01:06 - The motivation to start the company
07:26 - The team’s experience
12:19 - How do they stand out in the market?
14:36 - Toughest challenge so far
17:47 - Raising capital
About Jon Eisler:
Jon Eisler is the co-founder & CEO of Everyman, who are improving access to men's health through digital innovation. Jon received a BA in Business Administration from St.Gallen. After that, he went to LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science), where he completed a master
EP #339: Loulia Kassem: Making an Impact from Syria to Switzerland
Timestamps:
03:54 - Starting her first company in Syria
11:13 - First contact with Switzerland
16:12 - Explaining what biomarkers are
19:10 - How Rea Diagnostics helps determine pre-term birth symptoms
21:55 - Rea Diagnostic’s go-to-market process
About Loulia Kassem:
Loulia Kassem is the co-founder and CEO of Rea Diagnostics, a medtech company that created a device to help pregnant women and their doctors monitor the risk of pre-term birth. Originally from Syria, she received a bachelor's de
EP #338 - Carlo Badini, Jeremias Meier, Flavio Pfaffhauser & Aileen Zumstein: The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
08:43 - Bad experiences when first starting their companies
12:15 - Going from university into entrepreneurship
18:23 - The stress of running out of money
24:54 - Dealing with loneliness
34:24 - Importance of humbleness
About Carlo Badini, Jeremias Meier, Flavio Pfaffhauser and Aileen Zumstein:
Carlo Badini is the founder and CEO of Pabio, a company that gets your apartment fully furnished by a professional interior designer and rents high-quality furniture on a monthly subscription
Ep #337 - Philipp Stauffer, Myriam Locher & Flavio Pfaffhauser: Managing Startups in Difficult Times
Timestamps:
05:45 - Managing uncertain paths
06:38 - Advice for companies focusing on profitability
11:17 - How to look after employees in hard times
16:13 - Convincing people to invest in uncertain times
26:14 - Advice to early startups
About Philipp Stauffer, Myriam Locher & Flavio Pfaffhauser:
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder and Managing Director of FYRFLY Venture Partners, an early-stage technology venture firm. Myriam Locher is the co-CEO of Locatee, a workplace analytics solution t
EP #336 - Raffaello D’Andrea: Developing an Amazing Product as a Guidepost
Timestamps:
04:16 - Selling Kiva to Amazon
07:43 - Working with hardware and software
16:23 - Their business models
25:46 - Ways to lower carbon footprint
31:13 - Reasons Switzerland is a good place to start a company
About Raffaello D'Andrea:
Raffaello D'Andrea is the co-founder and CEO of Verity, a robotics company specializing in self-flying drones that conduct warehouse inspections. He was born in Italy but moved to Canada during his childhood and, later in life, completed all his s
EP #335 - Fred Destin: The Importance of Well-Designed Company Values
Timestamps:
8:11 - Building trust in your co-founder
6:10 - Samurais and startups
11:49 - Well-designed values
17:05 - Co-designing with users
21:04 - Defining work/life balance
About Fred Destin:
Fred Destin is the founder of Stride Venture Capital, an artisan venture capital fund focused primarily on the U.K. and France. He received his Master's from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and later got his MBA at HKUST Business School in Hong Kong. Starting his career at J.P.
EP #334 - Judith Häberli: Making Moves for Accessible Mobility
Timestamps:
2:40 - Judith’s non-linear career path
10:26 - How to separate work from your personal life
17:20 - Climate crisis contribution
21:06 - How does the leasing model work?
34:30 - Finding the right clients
About Judith Häberli:
Judith Häberli is the co-founder and COO of Urban Connect, which offers low-emission shared mobility solutions for companies. Judith's path to entrepreneurship was nonlinear: she first studied acting at the European Film Actor School but later ventured into
EP #333 - Marc Seidel: Alternative Investing & Cautionary Tales
Timestamps:
3:02 - How Crypto is currently doing
9:25 - Why the ultra-wealthy invest in Crypto
13:39 - Investing in different countries
30:42 - What is their business management model?
38:45 - A healthy relationship between cost, benefit and potential
About Marc Seidel:
Marc Seidel is a co-initiator & strategy manager at AltAlpha Strategies, which provides innovative and effective alternative investment strategies and advisory services. He has a degree in Banking and Finance from the Univer
EP #332 - Tigran Petrosyan: Farewell PhD, Hello AI
Timestamps:
06:06 - Having no entrepreneurial background
13:31 - Why Tigran dropped out of his PhD program
17:15 - The industries targeted by SuperAnnotate
18:25 - The business model behind it
24:28 - The importance of mentorship support
About Tigran Petrosyan:
Tigran Petrosyan is the co-founder and president of SuperAnnotate, an end-to-end platform to annotate, version, and manage data for your AI. He spent much of his life in academia, starting with a Bachelor's in Physics from Yerevan St
Ep #331 - Omar Bawa: When LinkedIn Met TikTok
Timestamps:
04:28 - Humanitarian Background
10:58 - Gen Z’s need their own LinkedIn
17:46 - What is their Business Model?
19:06 - The Chicken and Egg Problem
21:15 - Goals for a Greener Economy
About Omar Bawa:
Omar Bawa is the co-founder and COO of Goodwall, whose mission is to level the professional playing field for youth globally, helping 2m+ young talent in 150+ countries develop skills, showcase skills, and connect to opportunity. He received a law degree from the University of Geneva an
EP #330 - Deana Mohr-Haralampieva: Tissue Engineering to Solve Incontinence
Timestamps:
03:22 - Swiss women in STEM
08:10 - The high demand for incontinence testing
10:07 - Positive feedback from trials
15:29 - The challenges when conducting trials
20:17 - Funding difficulties
About Deana Mohr-Haralampieva:
Deana Mohr-Haralampieva is the CEO & co-founder at MUVON Therapeutics, a groundbreaking startup developing a therapeutic platform for the regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue. With a background in radiopharmaceutical sciences, tissue engineering, and STEM cell th
EP #329 - Péter Fankhauser: Robotics as a Service
Timestamps:
01:23 - Choosing robotics as his career
08:06 - Building a customer base
17:28 - How AI is used in robotics
19:47 - What does RaaS entail? (Robotics as a Service)
32:17 - How to raise money in a tricky economy
About Péter Fankhauser:
Péter Fankhauser is the CEO and co-founder at ANYbotics, a robotics company that develops autonomous robots for industrial inspections. He started his robotics journey at ETH Zurich, receiving a Master's and Ph.D. in Robotics. The idea for the company wa
EP #328 - Cédric Waldburger: Extreme Traveling, Calculated Investing
Timestamps:
8:17 - The great 24 hour adventure
15:15 - Dealing with the crypto dip
18:52 - How to handle market collapse
25:55 - The impact of inflation when holding cash
39:05 - Advice for investing in uncertain times
About Cédric Waldburger:
Cédric Waldburger describes himself as a startup investor, an essentialist, and an explorer, and from a young age he knew he wanted to start his own ventures: his first was at 14. He went on to get a degree in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zurich. He
EP #327 - Jan Lichtenberg: Replacing Animal Testing with 3D Printed Models
About Jan Lichtenberg:
Jan Lichtenberg is the CEO and board member of InSphero, a medtech company specializing in 3D printed models used for in vitro testing with easy-to-use solutions for producing, culturing, and assessing more organotypic 3D cell culture models. He has a solid scientific background of 10 total years of study, beginning with an MS in Microtechnology from the University of Bremen, followed by a Masters in Microelectronics from EPFL, and then completing his Ph.D. at Université d
EP #326 - Frank Floessel: Prioritizing Company Values
Timestamps:
4:46 - The evolution of the Swiss ecosystem
11:08 - Building a resilient company
31:41 - Work/life balance
32:40 - Frank’s 3 biggest entrepreneurial lessons
41:30 - Becoming an investor and the logical next steps
As a serial entrepreneur, investor, and coach, Frank Floessel has had a rich and wide-ranging career, starting from his university days at ETH Zurich, where he received a Master's in electrical engineering and co-founded and was the first president of ETH Juniors, w
EP #325 - Cédric Waldburger: Investing in Fluctuating Markets as a Digital Nomad
Timestamps:
1:36 - Views on the current market conditions
3:50 - Does rising inflation concern you and your investments?
08:54 - Handling the emotional component of investing
13:29 - Dealing with negativity in your portfolio
23:24 - Moving to Dubai and beyond
About Cédric Waldburger:
Cédric Waldburger describes himself as a startup investor, an essentialist, and an explorer, and from a young age he knew he wanted to start his own ventures: his first was at 14. He went on to get a degree i
EP #324 - Alexander Limpert: Making Homes Feel Like Hotels
Timestamps:
02:59 - Working across cultures and countries
08:37 - How they came up with the idea for GuestReady
21:45 - Selling your software
24:11 - Handling a hospitality company during the COVID-19 pandemic
36:50 - Choosing to grow through acquisition
About Alexander Limpert:
Alexander Limpert, the co-founder and CEO of GuestReady, a tech-driven accommodation brand focused on short-term rentals, has had a diverse and exciting career, including working in Taiwan and the Philippines. He has a
EP #323 - Alexander Ciritsis: Medtech AI for Early Cancer Detection
Timestamps:
6:48 - The market gap in radiology
15:47 - The accurateness of AI models
17:31 - Software patenting
26:35 - b-rayZ’ subscription model
33:02 - Going international from day 1
About Alexander Ciritsis:
Alexander Ciritsis is the co-founder and CTO at b-rayZ, an AI medical software for breast cancer early detection. He holds a PhD in Medical Science from RWTH Aachen University and was a researcher at University Hospital Aachen and Universitätsspital Zürich before starting b-rayZ in 2019
EP #322 - Andreas Schollin-Borg: How To Run A People Business
Timestamps:
4:47 - How the idea for Batmaid started in a New York apartment
6:45 - The importance of social responsibility in business
17:15 - Profitability in a people business
24:22 - Building a strong brand in Switzerland’s different regions
36:48 - Journey of finding investment
About Andreas Schollin-Borg:
Andreas Schollin-Borg always knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur. At the age of 16 he began a small business selling caps, and the bug bit. Due to his father’s insistence, he obtaine
EP #321 - Laurent Decrue: Iterating Your Product To Greatness
Timestamps:
7:13 - Product building mistakes
11:13 - What makes a great product
17:42 - Prioritizing certain product features
27:10 - Key roles in a product team
34:20 - Maintaining a strong culture
About Laurent Decrue:
Laurent Decrue is the co-founder of the moving company MOVU and the software company Holycode, and the former CEO at Bexio. Currently he is active as CFO and co-CEO at Holycode. He holds an MBA from the University of Basel and previously worked at DeinDeal.
Throughout his time
EP #320 - Nathalie Moral: Investing in Our Climate
Timestamps:
09:49 - How Nathalie got into climate entrepreneurship
12:02 - The tipping point: How close is it?
15:25 - How can richer countries like Switzerland play a role?
27:54 - Simultaneously being an investment and impact firm
34:08 - How can the economy adapt to climate-centered frameworks?
About Nathalie Moral:
Nathalie Moral is the founder and CEO of Clima Now, a foundation that finances and invests in climate solutions She received a degree in business administration from the Univers
EP #319 - Dennis Just: The Acquisition Masterclass
Timestamps:
04:29 - Meeting Smallpdf
14:37 - Backstabbed by a competitor
22:50 - Identifying acquisition targets
44:39 - Structuring the deal
51:30 - Announcing the acquisition
About Dennis Just:
Dennis Just is a serial entrepreneur and the former CEO at smallpdf, the rapidly growing and fully bootstrapped PDF powerhouse. He holds a BSc in Economics and Engineering from the Technische Universität Berlin and previously founded companies like dSLASH.de, compreo.de, TopFachhandel.de, Numbrs, and K
EP #318 - Dominik Megert: Selling Gift Cards In Switzerland
Timestamps:
8:27 - How to know if you can work well with someone
14:28 - Gift cards in Switzerland
18:55 - Building trust in e-commerce
25:18 - Credit card fraud and liability
28:55 - Getting big brands on board
About Dominik Megert:
Dominik Megert is the founder and CEO at offerz, a company which provides the largest assortment of digital vouchers and gift cards in Switzerland. He studied Retail Trade at the Business School Thun and started offerz when he finished his studies, in 2015.
Wheth
EP #317 - Pascal Bieri: The 4 Ingredient Meat Alternative
Timestamps:
6:05 - Coming up with planted recipes
7:18 - What’s wrong with livestock farming
10:56 - How vegetable protein compares
16:20 - Why Planted is better than meat
28:00 - Production costs in Switzerland
About Pascal Bieri:
Pascal Bieri is the co-founder of Planted, a startup creating healthy plant-based meat alternatives. He holds an MA in Informations-, Media- and Technology Management from the University of St Gallen, and previously worked in companies like SweetWorks Confections and
EP #316 - Andrea Belliger: Die Vielseitige Karriere
Timestamps:
01:35 - Change as a career navigator
06:46 - Being open to failure
14:12 - The role of foundations in the Swiss ecosystem
28:06 - Why and how to question yourself
33:21 - The pressure for change in Switzerland is too small
About Andrea Belliger:
Andrea Belliger is the director of the Institut für Kommunikation und Führung, Switzerland's leading educational research and consulting institution. She studied at the University of Lucerne, majoring in theology, philosophy, and history
EP #315 - Ulrike Pfreundt: Bringing Coral Reefs Back To Life
Timestamps:
9:30 - The effect of climate change on coral rrreefs
14:54 - 3D printed terracotta clay
17:46 - Testing the product, having a breakdown
28:18 - How rrreefs makes money
38:12 - Tackling reef destruction at the source
About Ulrike Pfreundt:
Ulrike Pfreundt is the co-founder and Head of Science and Development at rrreefs, a startup rebuilding coral reefs to restore marine biodiversity and protect coast lines. She holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics/Experimental Bioinformatics and was pre
EP #314 - Hilda Liswani: Prioritizing Diversity and Inclusion in Switzerland
Timestamps:
05:31 - The current state of gender diversity in Switzerland
9:00 - Obstacles women face in the workplace
11:12 - Are there ways to fix this problem?
20:34 - Benefits of diverse teams
23:10 - 3 ways to make Switzerland more diverse
About Hilda Liswani:
The daughter of a Namibian diplomat, Hilda Liswani has lived in many places, including South Africa, Ethiopia, and the UK. The experience of always being an outsider looking in has shaped her perspective toward diversity and inclusion
EP #313 - Pascale Vonmont: Foundations in Switzerland
Timestamps:
14:15 - Building a foundation
17:55 - Managing public perception of foundations
22:11 - Determining the success of a program
26:33 - Gebert Rüf’s funding strategy
33:00 - Why Switzerland is a great ecosystem
About Pascale Vonmont:
Pascale Vonmont is the director of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, which funds innovative Swiss university projects. She is also a board member at Swiss Foundations, VentureKick and the Swiss National Science Foundation, and a jury member of EY “Entrepreneur of
EP #312 - Fabian Mächler: A Grape a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Timestamps:
5:01 - How do Swiss companies currently look after their employees?
08:35 - Why was insurance the business model of choice?
14:03 - The 3 phases of employee healthcare
21:23 - Choosing whether or not to partner
29:36 - Reactive vs. preventative care
About Fabian Mächler
After getting his degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich and having a background in highly competitive sports, as his mother and grandfather were competitive endurance athletes, Fabian Mächler figured out early o
EP #311 - Tobias Gunzenhauser, Léa Miggiano & Flavio Pfaffhauser: Going Big, In Switzerland and Abroad
Timestamps:
6:48 - Entering an American vs a European market
12:55 - Do Swiss companies need to go international
16:45 - Compromises when going international
20:04 - Bootstrapping or fundraising
25:49 - When talent doesn’t come to you
About Tobias Gunzehauser, Léa Miggiano & Flavio Pfaffhauser:
Flavio Pfaffhauser is a co-founder and CIO at Beekeeper, a frontline operating system which helps companies ditch paper and manual processes to improve employee engagement, retention, and performance
EP #310 - Philippe Teissonniere: Startups as an Asset Class
Timestamps:
6:39 - Are startups the future of investing?
13:22 - Defining your investment strategy
22:04 - The art and science of valuation
27:44 - Glossary of investment terms
37:04 - Access to good deal flow
About Philippe Teissonniere:
Philippe Teissonniere is a co-founder and COO at Leva, the tech stack for the venture capital industry. He holds a MA in Law & Economics from HSG and previously worked at companies like db-Legal and Bleuer & Kleger, before starting Leva in 2019.
Leva o
EP #309 - Francine Gervazio: Becoming CEO of a High-Growth SaaS Company
Timestamps:
6:42 - The freight industry
13:41 - The true cost of every vehicle
18:46 - From VP of Customer Success to CEO
27:00 - Operating system of a high growth company
39:13 - CEOs being hands-on with finance
About Francine Gervazio:
Francine Gervazio is the CEO at Avrios, an innovative fleet management software. She holds an MBA from the Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, Massachusetts, and previously worked at companies like Aquila Institute and Rocket Internet SE. She foun
EP #308 - Fajer Mushtaq: The Dangerous Pollution in Swiss Waters
Timestamps:
9:02 - The problem of water contamination
15:29 - Nanotechnology and micro-pollutants
17:09 - Remediation vs tackling the source
19:52 - Oxyle’s customers
33:42 - Attracting talent as a cleantech startup
About Fajer Mushtaq:
Fajer Mushtaq is the co-founder and CEO at Oxyle, a cleantech startup with a game-changing water remediation technology. She holds a PhD in Micro- and Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation from ETH and previously worked there as a BRIDGE Proof-of-Conce
EP #307 - Lara Riparip: The Swiss Coding Academy For Girls
Timestamps:
1:47 - From the US to Switzerland
10:37 - Teaching girls to code
25:43 - Non-profit & a day job
32:45 - How to spot burnout
50:51 - Rapid fire questions
About Lara Riparip:
Lara Riparip is the co-founder of and an instructor at GirlsCodeToo, a coding academy for girls striving to breach the gender gap in STEM. She holds an MSc in Neural Systems and Computation from ETH and previously worked as a Staff Research Associate at the University of California. She currently works as a F
EP #306 - Arman Anatürk: Foodtech and Climate Change
Timestamps:
2:32 - Startups and climate change
11:00 - The impact of food production/distribution
15:53 - Transgenic foods
18:10 - Vertical farming
21:42 - Food packaging
About Arman Anatürk:
Arman Anatürk is the co-founder of the cleantech fund HackCapital and a founding member at FoodHack, the world’s largest foodtech community. He previously worked for companies like CoderCourse and OneRoof Agency.
Arman is very enthusiastic about the role cleantech startups can play in successfully navigati
EP #305 - Alex Blania: Defy For Global Financial Empowerment
Timestamps:
16:47 - The idea for Worldcoin
21:49 - Proof of personhood
26:01 - People without access to smartphones
27:56 - What you can do with Worldcoin
37:50 - When Worldcoin will launch
About Alex Blania:
Alex Blania is the co-founder and CEO at Worldcoin, a startup issuing a new, decentralized global currency that will be distributed fairly to as many people as possible. He holds a BSc with a double major in Physics and Mechanical Engineering from the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and was previous
EP #304 - Christoph Bertschi: What Every Founder Should Know
Timestamps:
11:40 - Where great ideas come from
15:07 - Founders should have a sales role
18:25 - Raising funds
21:22 - Making the first hires
30:15 - Physical and mental health
About Christoph Bertschi:
Christoph Bertschi is the co-founder and CEO at SmartBreed, a startup developing a decentralized upcycling technology to fully exploit the potential of insects. He holds a MSc in Banking and International Finance from Cass Business School, London and previously worked as a consultant at Simon-K
EP #303 - Jonathan Roberts: A Comprehensive Guide To M&A
Timestamps:
9:54 - Preparing for an M&A
16:58 - The right time to sell
27:46 - Drafting a list of potential buyers
43:55 - Disagreeing on the purchase price
1:05:25 - What to do yourself vs delegate
About Jonathan Roberts:
Jonathan Roberts is the director and co-founder of Menalto Advisors, an IT-focused M&A advisory firm headquartered in Silicon Valley and with a strong presence in Europe. He holds a BSc in Accountancy & Management from Miami University and worked as a consultant for Deloitte
EP#302 - Roman Odermatt: Paying Green
Timestamps:
5:48 - Carbon should cost you
9:27 - Convincing Innosuisse
17:39 - How much you pay with PayGreen
25:02 - Why you can’t greenwash PayGreen
31:50 - Fundraising through daura
About Roman Odermatt:
Roman Odermatt is the co-founder and CEO at PayGreen, a startup developing an ecological payment method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Roman holds an MSc in Entrepreneurship from the University of Bern and previously helped build the pharma startup InnoMedica Holding. He created PayGree
EP #301 - Lars Mangelsdorf: B2B Sales Breakdown
Timestamps:
3:36 - Lead generating strategies
10:09 - Cultivating a relationship with your leads
12:29 - Creating a sense of urgency
18:58 - Special offers and free trials
26:44 - Favorite tools
About Lars Mangelsdorf:
Lars Mangelsdorf is the co-founder and CCO at Yokoy, a spending management software company which enables companies to automate their expense and credit card processes using artificial intelligence. He previously worked as Senior Account Executive at Beekeeper.
Back in Spring 202
EP #300 - Beat Schillig & Jordi Montserrat: Venture Kicking You To Success
Timestamps:
01:55 - Getting into entrepreneurship
09:16 - IFJ, Venturelab and Venture Kick
17:34 - Where the name "Venture Kick" comes from
33:05 - The importance of foundations
45:12 - Where the Swiss ecosystem is headed
About Jordi Montserrat and Beat Schillig:
Jordi Montserrat and Beat Schillig are the co-founders of Venturelab, a set of flagship startup programs to support the best entrepreneurial talents in Switzerland, including Venture Kick, Venture Leaders, the TOP 100 Swiss
EP #299 - Vincent Bieri: A Swiss Unicorn
Timestamps:
5:55 - 30yo millionaires & the dot com crash
9:02 - Starting from scratch
36:35 - How to stick to your goals
52:50 - Reaching unicorn status
1:05:50 - Hiring good sales people
About Vincent Bieri:
Vincent Bieri is the co-founder of Nexthink, a leader in digital employee experience management software and one of the rare Swiss unicorns. He studied Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences of Fribourg, and later went on to work for Cisco for 7 years, b
EP #298 - Igor Fisch: Chess Moves & Pharma Spin-Offs
Timestamps:
5:37 - Founding Selexis in 2001
11:46 - Acquiring the first customers
15:18 - Getting a patent
21:16 - IP and license deals
24:00 - Serving on the VentureKick board
About Igor Fisch:
Igor Fisch is the founder and former CEO/President/Chairman at Selexis, a life-sciences Geneva-based company, and current president of the Romandie innovation incubator Fongit. He holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Geneva and previously worked as an assistant professor at the University of La
EP #297 - Stefany Barker: Diversifying the Tech Space
Timestamps:
6:38 - GirlsinTech Venture
20:55 - Being a woman in tech
25:19 - The journey from an operational to an advisory role
29:32 - Starting WaaS Websites
44:10 - The future of tech
About Stefany Barker:
In addition to being a tech lead at Palantir, one of the world's leading data science companies, Stefany Barker is also an entrepreneur and investor. She pursued an MSc in management, information systems and innovation at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Stefany
EP #296 - Tobias Kistler: A 100% Natural Meat Alternative
Timestamps:
11:32- Unhealthy Meat Alternatives
11:32 - The Fermentation Process
20:14 - Getting the Bio Swiss Label
25:47 - Getting into the biggest Swiss retailers
32:04 - Participating in Venture Kick
About Tobias Kistler:
Tobias Kistler is a co-founder of Luya, a foodtech startup creating deliciously sustainable vegan alternatives to meat. He holds an MA from the ETH Zürich and previously worked as a researcher at the Berner Fachhochschule.
Luya has found a way to provide meat alternatives w
EP #295 - Christina Hertel: Responsible Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
13:31 - Defining a Sustainable Business
23:14 - How to Measure Success as a Company
29:08 - Changing Governmental Sustainable Policies
35:26 - Dealing with Climate Change Deniers
37:19 - The Circular Economy
About Christina Hertel:
Christina Hertel is the project manager at LEVO, at the Enterprise for Society Center (E4S), a joint initiative from 3 institutions of renowned excellence: the University of Lausanne, the Institute for Management Development and the Ecole Polytechni
EP #294 - Julian Massler & Mathias Wegmüller: The Power of Franchising
Timestamps:
01:58 - How it all started
07:16 - What a franchising model is
16:53 - A company vs a franchise
22:53 - Franchise system FAQs
31:14 - Future scope & mission 100
About Julian Massler & Mathias Wegmüller:
Julian Massler is the co-founder and CEO at AURUM Fit, a gym which provides innovative high-intensity fitness training. Julian Massler studied economics at the University of Konstanz. Mathias Wegmüller is an early investor and board member at AURUM Fit who studied environmental hea
EP #293 - Florian & Gian Grundböck: From Selling T-Shirts to Selling Gin
Timestamps:
01:30 - The early days of Deux Frères
12:42 - Creating the perfect recipe
16:53 - The importance of building a good brand
23:09 - Market expansion & distribution
33:48 - Working together as brothers
About Florian & Gian Grundböck:
Florian and Gian Grundböck are the founders of Deux Frères, a gin company. Before founding Deux Fréres in 2016, Gian studied business administration and was a professional handball player at Grasshopper Club Zürich, and then went on to work for an architec
EP #292 - Job van der Voort: Global Hiring Has Never Been Easier
Timestamps:
06:01 - Life in Portugal
11:03 - Remote Work and its Appeal
20:43 - Dealing with Bureaucracies & Competitors
23:27 - Company Culture
34:14 - Getting to Unicorn Status
About Job van der Voort:
Job van der Voort is the co-founder and CEO of Remote.com, the world’s fastest-growing employment network that allows companies to easily and transparently hire worldwide. He studied his bachelor's in psychonomics and pursued a master's degree in cognitive neuroscience at the University of
EP #291 - Philipp Stauffer: Office, Hybrid or Remote?
Timestamps:
02:42 - Pros of the Physical Office
05:28 - Cons of the Physical Office
09:09 - Advantages of a Fully Remote Setup
11:43 - The Hybrid Model Approach
13:11 - A Purposeful Meeting Place
About Philipp Stauffer:
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder and managing director of FYRFLY Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in companies using data and intelligence to build their competitive advantage. His investments have included AngelList, Philz Coffee, and Beekeeper, among man
EP #290 - Benedikt Schuppli: Making Blockchain Work for the Real Economy
Timestamps:
02:52 - The Swiss Blockchain Market
06:51 - Entrepreneurship in the Blood Line
12:51 - What is the eNote?
24:11 - Building Trust Around the Technology
27:58 - The Challenge of Raising Funds
About Benedikt Schuppli:
Benedikt Schuppli is the co-founder and co-CEO of Obligate, a blockchain company and the hub for tokenized debt. He studied law at the University of Zürich and always had a knack for the way financial markets work. After law school, he worked at a
EP #289 - Julie Maples: Putting on the Sales Hat as a Founder
Timestamps:
01:33 - Building vs Selling the Product
06:01 - Outsourcing Sales
09:00 - How to Win Your First Customer
11:02 - Tips on Improving Your Sales Pitch
12:19 - A Founder's Unique Role
About Julie Maples:
Julie Maples is a co-founder and managing director at FYRFLY Ventures, where she has made investments in companies such as Boundless, Rosalyn.ai, and Mobi Systems, among others. She also serves on the board of the V Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports cancer research. At
EP #288 - Tomoko Yokoi: Deciding To Become Your Own Boss
Timestamps:
07:35 - Curiosity Breeds Entrepreneurship
15:09 - The Fall of Dermintel
23:24 - Digital Transformation Best Practices for Companies
33:03 - Inclusivity in the Tech Space
39:14 - Cognitive Flexibility and the Future of Work
About Tomoko Yokoi:
Tomoko Yokoi is a researcher and advisor in digital transformation at the IMD Business School and a lecturer at ETH Zürich. She also co-founded a market research startup, Dermintel. Before working in business, she studied International Developm
EP #287 - Julie Maples: A Founder's Guide to Fundraising
For a free masterclass on angel investing with DART Labs founder Sophie Lamparter and SICTIC president Thomas Dübendorfer, click here.
Timestamps:
03:52 - Building Trust with Potential Investors
07:54 - How to Split Your Time Fundraising and Managing Your Business
08:57 - Who Should be Involved in the Fundraising process
10:48 - The Advisory Board's Role in the Fundraising Process
15:29 - How Long the Fundraising Process Takes
About Julie Maples:
Julie Maples is a co-founder and managing direc
EP #286 - Philipp Stauffer: How to Handle Competition as a Founder
Timestamps:
01:46 - The Animal Kingdom and the Competitive Ecosystem
05:52 - Differentiation in the Marketplace
08:12 - Reacting to Your Competitors in New Markets
12:47 - Communicating with Your Competitors
14:17 - Coping with the Acquisition of a Competitor
About Philipp Stauffer:
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder and managing director of FYRFLY Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in companies using data and intelligence to build their competitive advantage. His investments
EP #285 - Alex Pachikov: Drone Security With Sunflower Labs
Timestamps:
00:54 - What You Study Doesn’t Matter
07:18 - Starting Sunflower Labs
25:04 - Bureaucracy & The Drone Space in Switzerland
35:36 - The Evernote Network
39:00 - Why Some Investors Didn’t Invest
About Alex Pachikov:
Alex Pachikov is the co-founder and CEO of Sunflower Labs, a remote and autonomous drone solution for property security. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2003 with a degree in Astronomy and Sociology. A decade later, he co-founded Sunflower Labs wit
EP #284 - Philipp Stauffer: How to Nail Your Board Meetings
Timestamps
01:19 - The Role of a Board
05:21 - How Often a Board Should Meet
10:15 - The Board Meeting Agenda
13:35 - How to Make Decisions as a Board
17:25 - The Importance of Good Communication
About Philip Stauffer
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder and general partner of Fyrfly Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in companies using data and intelligence to build their competitive advantage. His investments have included AngelList, Philz Coffee, and Beekeeper, among many ot
EP #283 - Tobias Rein: Going Back to the Drawing Board
Timestamps:
05:00- The Change in the Travel Market
16:10 - GetYourGuide’s Business Model
30:38 - The Dawn of the Pandemic
39:13 - Growth Strategies
49:22 - Navigating the Future
About Tobias Rein:
Tobias Rein is the co-founder and Principal Engineer at GetYourGuide, a leading online booking platform for travel experiences. He studied Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich). During his studies, he also worked for the design agen
EP #282 - Stefan Muehlemann: Europe’s Leading Debt Capital Market Platform
Timestamps:
1:47 - Building an Asian food company in the 90s
14:05 - Assembling the Loanboox co-founders
29:34 - UN’s development goals
36:08 - Meditation and entrepreneurship
40:00 - The Sparks IPO program
About Stefan Muehlemann:
Stefan Muehlemann is the founder, chairman and former CEO at Loanboox, the independent debt issuing platform that connects public sector, large corporate and real estate borrowers with banks and institutional investors. He holds an MBA in Business Administration and
EP #281 - Alan Cabello: Teaching Corporate Innovation
Timestamps:
1:37 - From Mexico to Switzerland
10:44 - Corporate innovation
27:26 - Validating an idea
39:37 - Calculating client ROI
48:28 - Looking for a different type of investor
About Alan Cabello:
Alan Cabello is the founder of SparkLabs, Sparkworks and Sparkademy, three sister companies working towards a common goal: business innovation in Switzerland. He previously co-founded the startup Kooku and holds a PhD in Strategy & Innovation Management from the EPFL.
Around 2013/2014, while
EP #280 - Ben James: The End of the Jack Welch Era and the Start of TP24
Timestamps:
00:07 - The Impact of GE on Ben James' Early Life
09:50 - The Start of TP24
21:45 - The Business Model: Secret Black Box
33:35 - Managing Mental Health: The Pressure of Being a Founder
48:38 - Six Sparks IPO Program
About Ben James:
Ben James, CEO of TP24, is an engineer at heart. After completing an engineering degree at Leeds University and working in the sales and operations department there, he started working at GE Capital full-time in sales and operations. During his studies,
EP #279 - David Heinemeier Hansson: Ruby On Rails, And What Came After It
Timestamps:
10:58 - Basecamp was born out of embarrassment
19:16 - Getting an offer from Bezos in 2005
38:50 - No email service is free
41:13 - What’s wrong with the cloud
47:56 - Quiet quitting
About David Heinermeier Hansson:
David Heinemeier Hansson, originally from Denmark, studied Business Administration at the Copenhagen Business School in the late 1990s. He is the founder of the open-source web framework, Ruby On Rails, and co-founder of 37Signals and HEY along with his business partner,
EP #278 - Bernhard Heusler: Führung im Profisport und im Business
Timestamps:
05:00 Wozu werden Führungskräfte gebraucht?
16:10 Die gemeinsame Vision
31:12 Verhältnis Präsident // Trainer
36:02 Die Wichtigkeit von Wertschätzung & Anerkennung
43:40 Werden Führungskräfte gemacht oder geboren?
Über Bernhard Heusler:
Bernhard Heusler ist Mitgründer und Partner der Heusler Werthmüller Heitz AG, mit Hauptsitz in Basel und spezialisiert auf die Erbringung von Dienstleistungen im Bereich der Wirtschaftsberatung, des Sports und der Kultur.
Der in Basel promovierte
EP #277 - Levent Künzi: Simplifying Swiss Real Estate
Timestamps:
2:42 - 25yo and COO at a big company
11:00 - Building a company with your brother
17:35 - The Swiss real estate market
22:55 - Taking on investors to support crazy growth
27:58 - Avoiding a second hit of burnout
About Levent Künzi:
Levent Künzi is the co-founder and CEO at Properti,
a technology-driven real estate company modernizing residential real estate. He holds a BSc in Business Administration, Marketing and Business Communications from Kalaidos Fachhochschule Schweiz and pre
EP #276 - Aurelio Perucca: Investing in Alternative Asset Classes
Timestamps:
1:43 - PwC and entrepreneurship
9:49 - Investing in an alternative asset class
24:36 - What happens when the asset is sold
32:59 - How Splint Invest makes money
38:15 - Crowdfunding campaign closed after 5 days
About Aurelio Perucca:
Aurelio Perucca is the co-founder and CEO at Splint Invest, an alternative investment platform. He holds a MS in Business Administration from the University of Bern and previously worked at Stryker and PwC.
Aurelio’s entrepreneurial journey all began in
EP#275 - Robert Piconi: From Ticino To The NYSE
Timestamps:
1:52 - From fossil fuels to clean energy
7:55 - Idealab and Energy Vault
14:20 - Hardware and software
29:03- Saying no to customers
43:50 - The intense schedule of going public
About Robert Piconi:
Robert Piconi is the co-founder and CEO at Energy Vault, a global energy storage company based in Ticino and publicly listed at NYSE. He previously worked at companies like BP, Alcatel and Spirent Communications.
Despite his past in the oil business, Robert is currently dedicated to taki
EP #274 - Vincenzo Neidhardt: The Revolutionary AI Music Manager
Timestamps:
1:48 - Being passionate about music
9:32 - Helga’s origin story
18:25 - Management tasks in the music industry
32:22 - Creating trust
36:56 - Tokenizing shares with Daura
About Vincenzo Neidhardt:
Vincenzo Neidhardt is the Managing Partner at Helga, a hyper-focused digital manager that specializes in the use of data in the music world. He holds a BSc in Business Administration from HWZ and previously co-founded the booking agency Garasch Musig.
Helga tackles an issue very relevant t
EP #273 - Luca Michas: Yamo’s Successful Growth Story
Timestamps:
8:00 - Sustainability and branding
23:01 - The yamo ingredients
32:10 - From baby food to snack bars
43:30 - The battle against regulation
1:03:34 - Raising a series B
About Luca Michas:
Luca Michas is the co-founder and CMO at Yamo, a B2C company revolutionizing the kid's food market with nutritious and organic options for kids of all ages. Luca holds an MA in Media & Communication / Marketing from the UZH and previously worked for companies like SodaStream International and the Ca
EP #272 - Raphael Schaad: The Next-Gen Calendar For Professionals And Teams
Timestamps:
6:38 - Working for Flipboard in 2011
18:16 - Hacking a calendar extension
22:51 - Getting into Y Combinator
39:00 - The “Batman” life of solo founders
56:58 - Getting acquired by Notion
About Raphael Schaad:
Raphael Schaad is the founder and CEO at Cron, a next-generation calendar software. Raphael holds an masters from MIT and a bachelors from the University of Applied Sciences Bern. He previously was a designer and engineer at Flipboard and a researcher at the MIT Medi
EP #271 - Hanna and Johan Åkerström: The Boostrapped Clean Personal Care Brand
Timestamps:
2:48 - Being part of the FREITAG journey
12:27 - Meeting your romantic partner and co-founder
17:42 - Clean and ethical beauty
40:02 - Choosing to be bootstrapped
45:29 - Internationalizing the soap emporium
About Hanna and Johan Åkerström:
Hanna and Johan Åkerström are the co-founders of Soeder, a natural and ethical personal care product manufacturer based in Zurich, Switzerland. Hanna is a trained architect, and Johan studied International Working Science at the University of Got
EP #270 - Sebastien Tondeur: Surviving Covid As An Events Business
Timestamps:
4:34 - Coming from a family business
10:37 - A hand-over from father to son
21:05 - Financial defenses against COVID
32:13 - Being a sustainability trailblazer
35:08 - The SIX IPO program
About Sebastien Tondeur:
Sebastien Tondeur is the CEO at MCI group, a global next-gen platform for marketing which was founded as a conference organizer in 1987 by Sebastien’s dad, Roger Tondeur. Sebastien studied Finance and International Business at Northeastern University in Boston and joined th
EP #269 - Silvan Krähenbühl: Silvan Takes A Back Seat
Timestamps:
10:10 - The Gymhopper story
22:00 - Stepping down from the CEO role
25:47 - How Silvan met Christian Hirsig
30:28 - Juggling two jobs plus Swisspreneur
36:52 - Where the Swiss ecosystem is headed
About Silvan Krähenbühl:
Silvan Krähenbühl is the host and managing director at Swisspreneur and current CEO at Rentouch, a Swiss enterprise software company developing products geared towards e-collaboration, and best known for the PIplanning app. He holds a BA in Business Administration f
EP #268 - Manuel Aschwanden: From Research Project To SME
Timestamps:
7:02 - Building a startup in 2008
14:08 - Selling to several different industries
18:06 - Growth to SME level
20:25 - The cultural fit
32:38 - The Sparks IPO Academy
About Manuel Aschwanden:
Manuel Aschwanden is the co-founder and CEO at Optotune, a company which develops optical components that allow customers around the globe to innovate. Prior to Optotune, Manuel has gained experience in engineering at Avalon and ABB, and he holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Nan
EP #267 - Adela Wiener: The Dawn Of Low Code
Timestamps:
5:04 - Adela’s role model mom
14:18 - Creating a spin-off business
18:55 - Spin-off trade-offs
24:35 - Setting up your headquarters in Switzerland
35:40 - Growing and innovating
About Adela Wiener:
Adela Wiener is the co-founder & CEO at Aurachain, a simple and intuitive low-code platform that allows rapid creation of digital applications. She previously worked as a business development manager at the Romanian software company AGYS AG, and holds a PhD in Theory of Systems from U
EP #266 - Michele Bomio: An Entrepreneur From Ticino
Timestamps:
3:04 - Building a startup in 1990
13:01 - Joining Securecell
22:38 - The SPARKS Academy
30:09 - Clinical trials
31:16 - Medtech market trends
About Michele Bomio:
Michele Bomio is an investor and board member at Securecell, a high tech life sciences company focusing on biotech & medtech. After having built his first venture, SAM, in the 90s (an ETH spin-off delivering predictive modeling to the food industry), Michele was an external CEO at companies like Navyboot and Orell Füss
EP#265 - Sandra Tobler: Cybersecurity In Switzerland
Timestamps:
1:40 - Having too many interests
11:11 - Testing an idea for a year
17:45 - Focusing on which problem to solve and how
19:30 - Building trust in the cybersecurity space
27:55 - What it takes to be an entrepreneur
About Sandra Tobler:
Sandra Tobler is the co-founder and CEO at Futurae Technologies, a startup providing future-proof, end user-centric authentication. She previously worked at IBM and the Switzerland Global Enterprise and holds an MA in International Affairs from the Grad
EP #264 - Jan Luescher: The Exclusive, Publicly-Listed Social Network
Timestamps:
13:46 - Being an external CEO
17:48 - Surviving in a saturated market
24:50 - Acquiring users and partners
33:14 - Going public on the Swiss stock exchange
38:17 - Choosing a direct listing
About Jan Luescher:
Jan Luescher is the CEO at ASMALLWORLD, an exclusive travel & lifestyle community. He previously worked as a Principal at Bain & Company and holds a MA in Strategy and International Management from HSG.
ASMALLWORLD was founded in 2004 by a wealthy Swedish couple, and s
EP #263 - Ash Maurya: The Lean Startup Methodology
Timestamps:
4:20 - Reading business books in engineering school
11:50 - The lean startup methodology
19:30 - The lean canvas
39:52 - The entrepreneurial renaissance
51:54 - The lean workshop
About Ash Maurya:
Ash Maurya is the founder and CEO at Leanstack, a leading provider of Lean Startup and Lean Business Modeling tools, content, and coaching resources. He is also the author of the book Running Lean. Prior to Leanstack, he worked at companies like telecom technologies and Sonus Networks and
EP #262 - Chris Bach: The Fastest Way To Build Sites, Stores & Apps
Timestamps:
11:20 - Giving up your salary for a startup idea
12:58 - Moving to California
23:25 - Marketing a solution with broad applications
32:19 - Tweaking your pricing
40:03 - Convincing investors to invest
About Chris Bach:
Chris Bach is the CSO/CCO at Netlify, a platform for building highly-performant and dynamic websites, e-commerce stores and apps. He studied film and media science at the University of Copenhagen but then pivoted to the business world, and created Netlify in 2015 toget
EP #261 - Samuel Mueller: Scandit Revisited
This episode was produced in cooperation with the ETH Entrepreneur Club.
Timestamps:
3:20 - IoT 10 years ago
20:02 - Subscription based models and high margins
25:09 - Going international from day one
30:02 - Picking Ariel Lüdi as an investor
45:00 - Scaling your team
About Samuel Mueller:
Samuel Mueller is the co-founder and CEO at Scandit, the leading technology platform for mobile computer vision and augmented reality (AR) solutions for enterprises. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and Te
EP #260 - Elian Kool: The Holacratic Consultancy
Timestamps:
9:25 - Netcentric’s focus
23:17 - Growing your headcount
26:45 - Choosing holacracy
38:36 - Getting acquired
49:08 - Building a wine marketplace
About Elian Kool:
Elian Kool is the co-founder and former CEO at Netcentric, a Zurich based company that develops CX marketing solutions. He previously worked at companies like Acommit AG, Namics and Logica Deutschland.
Elian co-founded Netcentric in 2012, right around the time that Adobe Experience Cloud (the focus of their business) was f
EP #259 - Dennis Just & Mathis Büchi: Hypergrowth & Beyond
Timestamps:
7:21 - The right time for scaling up
26:36 - Why hire in Belgrade
32:02 - Scaling while bootstrapped
42:42 - Growth engines
53:15 - Growing towards an exit
About Dennis Just and Mathis Büchi:
Dennis Just is the current CEO at Smallpdf, a company offering a suite of clever document management tools for everyone. He holds a BSc in Economics and Engineering from Technische Universität Berlin and previously founded companies like Numbrs and Knip.
Mathis Büchi is co-founder and chairman
EP #258 - Kevin Smith: An App To Unlock The Knowledge In Podcasts
Timestamps:
1:44 - Falling in love with machine learning
15:03 - Developing a prototype at HackZurich
23:05 - Podcasts as the world’s largest knowledge base
40:43 - Doing B2C in Switzerland
49:15 - Benefiting from the Swiss startup mafia
About Kevin Smith:
Kevin Smith is the co-founder and CEO at Snipd, an AI-powered podcast player built to unlock the knowledge in the podcasts you listen to. Originally from England and Germany, Kevin came to Zurich to get his MA from ETH in Quantitative Finance
EP #257 - Roy Raanani: Settling In Switzerland And Building A Business
Timestamps:
2:01 - How consulting makes you a better entrepreneur
7:27 - Spending your sabbatical in Rheinfeld
31:18 - Staying healthy as a founder
42:18 - Complex and non-complex system
47:35 - Getting acquired by Zoom Info
About Roy Raanani:
Roy Raanani is the co-founder, former CEO and current president of Chorus.ai, a B2B SaaS platform that helps sales teams improve the quality of their conversations and sales processes by analyzing how top performers engage with customers in calls and vide
EP #256 - Kai Eberhardt: The App To Change Your Diet For Good
Timestamps:
3:52 - Breaking up and getting back together with McKinsey
9:36 - Gathering the Oviva team
12:01 - Certified dieticians vs nutritionists
16:52 - Working with health insurers
34:59 - Keeping in touch with your investors
About Kai Eberhardt:
Kai Eberhardt is the co-founder and CEO at Oviva, an app which provides personalized advice and individual support for targeted dietary changes. He holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from ETH and previously worked for McKinsey and Groupon.
Kai left
EP #255 - Christof Tremp: Rebellious Spirits
Timestamps:
12:50 - Alcohol-free drinks for the new decade
18:17 - Choosing Switzerland as a production site
21:40 - Who’s buying alcohol-free drinks?
22:53 - Reaching a crowdfunding goal in 11 hours
28:37 - Selling B2C and B2B
About Christof Tremp:
Christof Tremp is the co-founder and CEO at Rebels 0.0%, a startup producing alcohol-free spirits. He holds an MA in Business Administration from HSG and has previously worked at Kraft Foods Group, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Lindt & Sprü
EP #254 - Patrik Deuss: The Bootstrapped Smart Lighting Solution
Timestamps:
5:02 - Picking the right co-founder
14:14 - Going B2B
18:07 - Getting better at sales
21:42 - Fundraising as a spin-off
31:59 - Getting inspiration as an entrepreneur
About Patrik Deuss:
Patrik Deuss is the co-founder and CEO at LEDCity, a cleantech startup specializing in smart lighting solutions. Patrik holds a BS in Energy and Environmental Engineering from ZHAW and previously worked at m-way agm and blitzzcar GmbH.
With LEDCity’s solution, AI-trained algorithms control the light
EP #253 - Alexander Schueller & Tobias Reichmuth: The Future Of Human Aging
Timestamps:
5:00 - The ideal human future
7:27 - Reversing aging vs curing common diseases
10:22 - Longevity tips
13:11 - Societal costs to longevity
20:22 - Recs for 20 year olds
About Alexander Schueller & Tobias Reichmuth:
Alexander Schueller is the founder and CEO at cellvie, a seed-stage venture developing mitochondria-based therapies. Tobias Reichmuth is a founding partner at maximoon, a venture studio company builder which has already built 2 longevity startups, with 3 more to follow thi
EP #252 - Severin Hacker: From Fledgling Startup To NASDAQ IPO
Timestamps:
1:08 - From ETH to Carnegie Mellon
5:28 - Not going to Silicon Valley
8:03 - Freemium and philanthropy
10:22 - A/B testing at Duolingo
18:23 - The Duolingo IPO
About Severin Hacker:
Severin Hacker is the co-founder and CTO of Duolingo, the world’s most popular language learning app. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and previously worked as a research intern at Microsoft.
It was during his time at Carnegie Mellon that he met his co-founder, Luis von
EP #251 - Mikhail Kokorich: Travel By Hyperplane
Timestamps:
6:26 - MBAs aren’t just for managers
12:22 - Covering any distance in less than 2h
15:43 - When hydrogen will become cheaper
24:34 - Building a hyperplane prototype in 4 months
29:33 - Dealing with aviation regulation
About Mikhail Kokorich:
Mikhail Kokorich is the founder and CEO of Destinus, an aerospace company building hyperplanes to provide the fastest transportation on earth. He studied business administration back in Russia and also went on to complete executive programs at S
EP #250 - Bassil Eid: Better, Cheaper Payroll For Swiss Companies
Timestamps:
1:07 - From Canada to Denmark
7:32 - Convincing your parents about entrepreneurship
16:20 - The 3 ways to do payroll in Switzerland
21:57 - Convincing Swiss SMEs
30:32 - Preparing to acquire a company
About Bassil Eid:
Bassil Eid is a co-founder of Earny, a startup providing simple automated payroll in 10 mins or less for startups & SMEs. Bassil’s family moved from Lebanon to Canada when he was young, and it was in Canada that he studied Business Administration and Economics and be
EP #249 - Christof Roduner: Swiss Unicorn On The Rise
Timestamps:
3:35 - Not having a clear goal for your PhD
7:54 - Starting your own company
22:04 - From old acquaintance to co-founder
27:32 - Selling to retail and logistics
43:53 - Life after unicorn status
About Christof Roduner:
Christof Roduner is the co-founder and CIO at Scandit, the leading technology platform for mobile computer vision and augmented reality (AR) solutions for enterprises. He holds a MSc in Business Administration and Computer Science from the University of Zurich. It was
EP #248 - Alexandre Laybros: Energy Transition Champions
Timestamps:
3:33 - Range anxiety with electric vehicles
10:40 - Incubating in both Switzerland and France
14:41 - Why award recognition is key
20:42 - Identifying the right launch customers
23:26 - Organizing a demo day
About Alexandre Laybros:
Alexandre Laybros is the co-founder and deputy CEO and CMO at WattAnyWhere, a startup offering off-grid renewable electricity for BEV fast-charging. He holds a masters in Electrical Engineering from ENSEA and previously worked for companies like Thales a
EP #247 - Philippe Bubb & Martin Altorfer: Building Session.VC
Timestamps:
1:39 - The freedom of entrepreneurship
11:25 - Getting access to deals in the 00s
17:15 - Borrowing money to invest in startups
34:12 - Team and timing
43:43 - The Swiss tendency to miss out
About Philippe Bubb & Martin Altorfer:
Philippe Bubb and Martin Altorfer are the co-founders of session.vc, a fund investing in early stage companies in the software and consumer space. Philippe has an MBA in Business Administration and Finance from HSG and previously worked as a financial a
EP #246 - Deborah Learoyd: Roof Tiles With Greater ROI
Timestamps:
4:17 - The prettiest solar panels you’ll ever see
7:09 - A team of two engineers
11:27 - Not competing with solar panels
13:04 - Tiles with greater ROI
15:53 - Scaling up to a sustainable size
About Deborah Learoyd:
Deborah Learoyd is the co-founder and managing director of Freesuns, a company designing beautifully integrated solar roof tiles for residential, commercial and heritage buildings. She worked at the technology company Honeywell for 20 years before going all-in on her sta
EP #245 - Séverine Gisin: Preventative Neurotech
Timestamps:
1:37 - Studying STEM
11:29 - Patent and a seed round
24:06 - Educating the market and closing the deal
27:53 - Landing a partnership with SONY
31:18 - Filing patents is depressing
About Séverine Gisin:
Séverine Gisin is the co-founder and CCO at IDUN Technologies, a neurotech startup with a vision of creating a more connected and empathetic world using brain-sensing headphones. She has a background in Health Science and Technologies from ETH.
Together with her co-founder Simon Bachm
EP #244 - Andreas Lenzhofer: The World’s Most Comfortable Pajamas
Timestamps:
1:31 - The value of an MBA
9:30 - How to validate a business idea
15:27 - Working with your romantic partner
28:33 - How to acquire customers
38:21 - Picking stores to work with
About Andreas Lenzhofer:
Andreas Lenzhofer is a co-founder & chairman at Dagsmejan, a company that develops innovative clothing for better sleep. After a UK MBA and an impressive corporate career, Andreas and his romantic partner decided to become entrepreneurs, and identified self-care as one of the las
EP #243 - Mitchell Duffy: Novel Materials, Novel Functionalities
Timestamps:
3:05 - Running a coffee shop from a dorm room
9:50 - Why biology is the most advanced tech on Earth
13:32 - How to program proteins
15:05 - Vegan, sustainable collagen
23:30 - Surviving climate change
About Mitchell Duffy:
Mitchell Duffy is the CEO and co-founder at Cambrium, a next-generation materials company utilizing the molecular programmability of proteins to re-imagine the products you use everyday. Originally hailing from the US, he majored in Biology and Computer Science at
EP #242 - Loïc Schülé: 21st Century Dentistry
Timestamps:
1:40 - Consulting prepared Loïc for entrepreneurship
7:45 - Building an agency
12:58 - Solving someone else’s problem
24:24 - Focus vs offering a multifaceted product
33:39 - Being bootstrapped for several years
About Loïc Schülé:
Loïc Schülé is the co-founder and CEO at denteo, a software provider for dentist offices. He studied computer science at EPFL and worked in consulting before pivoting his career and landing at Impact Hub in 2015.
He co-founded denteo in 2017 with 3 other c
EP #241 - Gerhard Andrey: A Swiss Entrepreneur And Politician
Timestamps:
3:21 - Balancing entrepreneurship and politics
9:23 - How politics can help startups
16:58 - Measuring economic impact
22:28 - Making Switzerland more startup
26:59 - Mainstreaming impact accounting
About Gerhard Andrey:
Gerhard Andrey is a Grüne Schweiz member and national councillor on the Swiss Parliament. He also co-founded the Swiss digital agency Liip, is a board member at Alternative Bank Schweiz, and has a background in engineering.
Gerhard felt drawn to politics because he
EP #240 - Robert Lauko: Interest-Free Borrowing On The Blockchain
Timestamps:
1:41 - Switching from engineering to law
8:52 - Visiting the US blockchain scene
13:01 - Leaving DFINITY
22:03 - Explaining Liquity to a 5yo child
44:17 - Whether VCs own the blockchain
About Robert Lauko:
Robert Lauko is the co-founder and CEO at Liquity, a decentralized protocol that enables interest-free borrowing on the blockchain. He studied Microengineering at EPFL but then switched to Law at UZH. Robert worked for several years as a lawyer before pivoting to blockchain
EP# 239 - Roland Siegwart: A Chat With An ETH Professor
Timestamps:
3:43 - What makes ETH special
8:13 - Commercializing research at ETH
13:03 - Switzerland sells itself short
15:31 - Making Switzerland more startup
19:17 - Where our ecosystem is going
About Roland Siegwart
Roland Siegwart is a professor of Autonomous Systems at ETH Zurich and board member for Sevensense Robotics, NZZ, Komax and Evatec. He has been a visiting scientist at both EPFL and Stanford, and holds a PhD in Mechatronics from ETH Zurich.
Roland’s original ambition was to becom
EP #238 - Oliver Ganz: Market Research Masters
Timestamps:
6:00 - What makes a co-founder “the one”
9:47 - Solving your own problem
15:51 - Pricing strategy
27:29 - Technical challenges
34:41 - Getting acquired by Norstat group
About Oliver Ganz:
Oliver Ganz is the co-founder and CTO at Testing Time, a UX test and market research recruiter founded in 2015. Oliver has a Masters in Computer Science and previously worked at Amazee Labs and Doodle, at the latter of which he met Reto Lämmler. Testing Time was acquired by the Norstat Group in 202
EP#237 - Lars Mangelsdorf: Yokoy’s Climb To Success
Timestamps:
1:01 - Starting Yokoy
5:08 - Scaling from 40 to 200 employees
12:14 - Monthly company updates
16:42 - Asking for help
19:42 - Making Switzerland more startup
About Lars Mangelsdorf:
Lars Mangelsdorf is co-founder and CCO at Yokoy, the all-in-one spending management solution automating the expenses, invoice & credit card processes of medium and large firms. He previously worked as a Senior Account Executive at Beekeeper.
After successfully raising over $100M in less than a year,
EP #236 - Peter Schnürer: Connecting Companies With Shareholders
Timestamps:
1:41 - The internet in the 90s
9:53 - Companies should digitize their shares
19:44 - Why you should use the blockchain
23:24 - Educating the market on the blockchain
35:25 - Deploying 1 feature per week
About Peter Schnürer:
Peter Schnürer is the CEO at daura, a digital equity platform which helps companies keep a digital share registry. Peter has a background in Business Administration and has worked for several banks and IT companies.
60% of Swiss companies aren’t sure their share
EP #235 - Olivier Laplace: From Founder To Venture Capitalist
Timestamps:
1:22 - Wanting to be a VC
5:08 - Investing in B2B SaaS
8:32 - Getting more Swiss VC money
15:42 - Making Switzerland more startup-friendly
20:28 - Where the Swiss ecosystem is going
About Olivier Laplace:
Olivier Laplace has been a partner at the VC fund VI Partners since early 2022. He previously worked as head of corporate VC at Swiss Post and founded a company called Balumpa, which provided users a geo-localized social network. Throughout the years, his investor portfolio has inc
EP #234 - Patrizia Laeri: Fixing The Financial Gender Gap
Timestamps:
1:38 - Journalism during the dot com crisis
20:40 - Fostering female financial independence
24:13 - Sexist backlash
37:28 - Building media leverage
42:30 - Raising a family on a startup salary
About Patrizia Laeri:
Patrizia Laeri is a business journalist and the co-founder and CEO of elleXX, an independent money media platform for women. She studied business administration and then went on to start her journalism career in 2003 at SRF. During her time in Swiss television she reporte
EP #233 - Laura Matter: Swiss Online Dating
Timestamps:
0:57 - Why start a dating platform in Switzerland
5:45 - Rising up to the fundraising challenge
12:23 - Getting money from FFFs
15:12 - Transparency in the Swiss ecosystem
19:32 - Upcoming startup trends
About Laura Matter and noii:
Laura Matter is the co-founder and CEO of noii, a video chat-based dating app. noii combines sophisticated algorithms with psychological know-how to find suitable partners and then allows you to join them on a video chat speed dating round. You are then
EP #232 - Heiner Grüter: M&A And Exit Readiness
Timestamps:
1:24 - The UNIC mafia
3:08 - Right and wrong reasons to sell your company
10:16 - M&A KPI threshold
26:15 - Sending out one-pagers
48:42 - What to share with a potential buyer
About Heiner Grüter:
Heiner Grüter is the CEO at Meridium Partners, a strategy and M&A consultancy company. He was previously the CEO at UNIC, one of Switzerland’s first digital agencies and one of the Swiss Startup Mafia’s “mother” companies, having given rise to major players like Rentouch, Students.
EP #231 - Sophie Lamparter: Picking The Brain Of A VC
Timestamps:
1:50 - Bridging the gap between different ecosystems
11:40 - How the pandemic changed the VC world
24:35 - Building an eye-catching pitch deck
31:06 - Dealing with investors who don’t follow through
40:40 - Hitting inflection points
About Sophie Lamparter:
As founder and managing partner at DART labs, Sophie is a Silicon Valley VC with Swiss roots. She and her team focus on finding the best European technology startups and turning them into global players. Prior to becoming a ventur
EP #230 - Zeki Bulgurcu: Meme-König, Influencer, Unternehmer
Timestamps:
4:54 - Das erste Meme in einer schlaflosen Nacht
12:23 - Erster Umsatz als Personal Brand
19:44 - Umgang mit Bekanntheit
30:11 - Typischer Tagesablauf von Zeki
40:07 - Was motiviert dich am morgen aufzustehen?
Bio:
Zeki Bulgurcu ist der Gründer von Swissmeme und Zekisworld. Aufgewachsen in Basel, startet Zeki seine berufliche Laufbahn mit einer Berufslehre als Detailhandelsfachmann. Seine ersten Memes veröffentlicht er 2013 - schnell entwickelt sich sein Instagram Kanal "Swissmeme"
EP#229 - Olga Dubey: Pioneers In Natural Plant Protection
Timestamps:
2:55 - Choosing between research and entrepreneurship
7:08 - Meeting a co-founder and future husband
13:09 - Global supply chain
14:34 - The challenge of certification
20:06 - Running a startup with your husband
About Olga Dubey:
Olga Dubey is the co-founder and CEO of AgroSustain, a one-stop-shop solution for biological plant protection that she created following her PhD in Plant Pathology, during which she met her husband and future AgroSustain co-founder.
AgroSustain produces nat
EP#228 - Estella Benz: Bringing The Beauty Industry Up To Speed
Timestamps:
1:42 - Studying what you truly love
6:13 - From solo founder to co-founder
15:13 - Skin Match use cases
20:14 - The product database
25:54 - Business model sustainability
About Estella Benz:
Estella Benz is the co-founder and CEO at Skin Match, a retail technology which uses AI to take the beauty industry to the next level. In her university studies she combined marketing with the beauty industry, after failing to get into her desired fashion design school. Her interest in the beaut
EP #227 - Simone Riedel Riley: The Swiss Technology Fund
Timestamps:
1:33 - Studying abroad
11:28 - Why the Swiss Tech Fund doesn’t give out loans themselves
17:55 - The cost structure
28:18 - What the fund offers besides loan guarantees
36:53 - What happens after defaulting on your loan
About Simone Riedel:
Simone Riedel Riley is the general manager at the Swiss Technology Fund, which grants loan guarantees to Swiss cleantech startups. She got her MBA from UZH and also studied at Harvard and Indiana University. She then came back to Switzerland to w
EP #226 - Ivan Cossu: The World of Hybrid Work
Timestamps:
4:33 - Meeting your co-founders at a corporate job
14:31 - Taking advantage of inbound leads
16:31 - The Covid effect
22:54 - Standing out in the job market
30:51 - Preparing early for a round
About Ivan Cossu:
Ivan Cossu is the co-founder and CEO at Deskbird, a people-centric solution for a hybrid workspace. He has a background in economics and worked for a number of banks and consulting companies before venturing out onto entrepreneurship.
Deskbird came about during the start of t
EP #225 - Soumya Dash: A Good Night’s Sleepiz
Timestamps:
1:33 - From India to Germany and Switzerland
10:57 - Why build a startup
22:00 - Solving sleep disorders
36:36 - Marketing to B2B and B2C simultaneously
40:33 - Vertical and horizontal expansion
About Soumya Dash:
Soumya Dash is the co-founder and CEO of Sleepiz, a startup which produces remote sleep monitoring devices. Originally from India, he grew up constantly relocating to different regions of this country due to his father’s job, and this allowed him to develop an incredible d
EP #224 - Hermann Arnold: How Btov Became Umantis
Click here to answer the 2022 Swisspreneur Survey.
Timestamps:
1:45 - Co-founding START Global
09:17 - Turning btov into umantis
19:13 - Starting a company during the dot com bubble
23:14 - Switzerland is the most open of the DACH countries
41:02 - When a fuck-up turns out okay
About Hermann Arnold:
Herman Arnold is the co-founder and ex-CEO of the talent management software company umantis. He was also a co-founder of btov and START global.
START global, the (nowadays) international organizat
EP #223 - Carlo Badini: From Videographer To Entrepreneur
Click here to answer the 2022 Swisspreneur Survey: https://swisspreneur.typeform.com/to/LDhwEC5x
Timestamps:
4:45 - Film directors and entrepreneurs
9:03 - Studying and bootstrapping a company
20:45 - Pabio, or renting your furniture
32:10 - Giving up recurring revenue opportunities
51:17 - Y Combinator
About Carlo Badini:
Carlo Badini is a co-founder and CEO at Pabio, the startup which allows you to decorate your apartment with high-quality furniture through a monthly subscription. He studied
EP #222 - Lena Jüngst & Simon Nuesch: Hacking Your Sweet Tooth With Air Up
Timestamps:
1:17 - From creative work to the business world
11:37 - The graveyard of brand names
20:21 - Responsible consumption and emotional attractiveness
30:32 - Storytelling and investors
52:17 - Focused internationalization
About Lena Jüngst & Simon Nuesch:
Lena Jüngst and Simon Nuesch are the co-founders of Air Up, a revolutionary scent-based drinking system. Lena has a background in product design and Simon studied technology, management and business administration. They both come from
EP #221 - Pascal Koenig: Hardship Can Be Rewarding
Timestamps:
3:09 - Finding co-founders
11:24 - Giving up the McKinsey partner salary
15:10 - Arrogance and stress
21:06 - Setting your own agenda
23:35 - Why entrepreneurship pays off
About Pascal Koenig:
Pascal Koenig is the co-founder, former CEO and current board member at AVA women, a startup manufacturing wearable fertility trackers for women. He studied business in St Gallen and New York and worked at McKinsey for a few years before being invited by one of his university professors to joi
EP #220 - Boris Manhart: The Challenges Of An External CEO
Timestamps:
1:07 - Is university overrated?
8:55 - Why be an external CEO?
21:16 - Conflict with the founding team
23:10 - Co-CEOs and holacracy
45:41 - There is always a better you
About Boris Manhart:
Boris Manhart is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Growth Unltd, a company that helps scale your business. He was previously involved with CodeCheck and Numbrs, and studied for a couple of years at the Universität Zürich.
Boris is actually a university dropout: he quit after 2 years of st
EP #219 - Lorena Tschirky & Alice Dal Fuoco: At The Heart Of Innovation
Timestamps:
5:54 - Being a trend scout in Silicon Valley
11:27 - The Swiss pension system concern
21:33 - What makes or breaks a pilot project
31:41 - The success book and the failure book
40:05 - Next trends coming up
About Lorena & Alice:
Alice dal Fuoco is the head of innovation at VNTR, an innovation and venturing project by Postfinance. Lorena Tschirky is the lead of one of VNTR's successful ventures, miira.
Before joining VNTR, Alice's work at Postfinance consisted of trend scouting t
EP #218 - Markus Meyer: The Swiss Founder Must Go Abroad
Timestamps:
2:14 - When to go international
9:00 - Franchising
13:02 - Associations that help you go abroad
17:26 - Receiving payments in other countries
20:29 - Trade finance
About Markus Meyer:
Markus Meyer is responsible at UBS Switzerland for payments, trade finance and leasing business. He has been working for UBS since 1996, and holds a PhD in Information & Technology Management and Banking from HSG.
According to Markus, there is no universal right timing for going international, but
EP #217 - Martin Eichenhofer: Carbon Champions
Timestamps:
1:33 - Spending many years at university
7:15 - Meeting your co-founder at university
9:52 - A very technical founder team
31:40 - Finding promising partners
41:05 - Communicating your vision
About Martin Eichenhofer:
Martin Eichenhofer is the co-founder and CEO at 9T Labs, a startup making 3D printed carbon composites for high volume production. He has an impressive academic background, with one BA, one MA, one MBA and one PhD under his belt.
His university path is actually deeply
EP #216 - Martin Eng & Patrick Forte: A Backstage View Of The ON Story
Timestamps:
1:31 - Meeting the ON co-founders for the first time
7:30 - Loans are preferable to equity rounds
26:05 - An investor's sleepless nights
34:18 - Swiss IPOs in the future
39:49 - Get help with industry leaders
About Martin Eng & Patrick Forte
Martin Eng is a senior client advisor at UBS, and Patrick Forte works there as the head of corporate finance. Martin has been a part of the UBS team for a total of 15 years, Patrick for 18.
The ON team won the SEF (Swiss Economic Forum) awar
EP #215 - Phil Libin: From Evernote To All Turtles
Timestamps:
1:04 - Dropping out of college
6:53 - Selling a company for $26M at 30
13:00 - Evernote in 2007
38:18 - The out-of-office world
40:40 - Choosing where to live
About Phil Libin:
Phil Libin is the co-founder and former CEO at Evernote, the world’s best known note-taking app. Prior to Evernote, he built Engine5 and CoreStreet. He holds a BA in Computer Science from Boston University, which he began in 1989 and only finished in 2019. He originally dropped out shortly before graduating.
EP #214 - Thomas Hofer & Vito Gigante: How To Sell Or Buy A Company
Timestamps:
1:32 - How not to sell your company
6:46 - KPIs to reach before selling
20:40 - Finding the right price
26:32 - Whoever wants to deal less wins
32:04 - Your role after the sale
About Thomas Hofer and Vito Gigante
Thomas Hofer is the head of the transaction advisory at UBS' corporate finance department, and has been working for UBS for over 20 years. Vito Gigante has been the head of SME M&As at UBS ever since 2016.
Here are a few common mistakes when it comes to selling/buying c
EP#213 - Bettina Hein: A Lion Of Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
1:01 - A family full of role models
8:23 - The doubts of an entrepreneur
18:56 - Moving back to the US
29:41 - A partnership in equality
40:41 - Working with your spouse
About Bettina Hein:
Bettina Hein is the co-founder and CEO at juli Health, an app for managing chronic health conditions, and an investor at the Swiss Shark Tank Höhle der Löwen. She also co-founded START Global when studying at HSG, as well as Svox and Pixability. She’s married to Andreas Glödi, who is an investor
EP #212 - Fabian Humbel: Liquidation, Demystified
Timestamps:
2:10 - What liquidation is
6:30 - When liquidation is enforced by a creditor
19:50 - Liquidation agreement
23:31 - The emotional toll
28:20- If liquidation happens to a supplier/partner
About Fabian Humbel:
Fabian is an executive director and the head of special segments, credit and recovery solutions at UBS, of which he has been an employee since 2006. He has an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business and a BASc in Business Administration from HSG.
3 misconceptions about liqu
EP #211 - Roy Bernheim: The Community-Led Clothing Brand
Timestamps:
5:43 - Traveling for 4 months to think
9:34 - Building a highly-scalable business
21:20 - Sustainability and pricing
35:37 - A new way of experiencing online shopping
42:56 - Selling tokenized shares
About Roy Bernheim
Roy Bernheim is the co-founder of the men's underwear brand T-Bô, the first clothing brand to be community driven. His background is in European Social and Political studies, and after university he went on to work in private equity and brand management.
Roy and his c
EP #210 - Jürg Tauss: Nailing Company Valuation
Timestamps:
0:52 - How NOT to do valuation
3:56 - Why do a company valuation
27:26 - Discounted cash flow
34:30 - How to influence your company value
37:49 - How often to do valuation
About Jürg Tauss:
Jürg Tauss is an executive director at UBS and the head of the M&A valuation desk at the corporate finance Switzerland team.
The first thing Jürg thinks founders should know is that value is in itself subjective, and guided by the individual who looks at the asset. What the UBS M&A valuat
EP #209 - Pascal Meyer: Success Outside The Box
Timestamps:
6:02 - The psychology of flash sales
10:30 - People lie in surveys
11:51 - Selling teslas and Picassos
25:43 - Picking the right idea
43:33 - What the german part can learn from the Romandy
About Pascal Meyer:
Pascal Meyer is the solo founder and CEO of Qoqa, a flash sale e-commerce platform in Switzerland created in 2005. He previously worked for AMPCO Metal and Buchheim Communications.
At the time of Qoqa's founding, e-commerce was quite new to Switzerland and brands were extremel
EP#208 - Mathis Büchi: Who's Afraid Of Filing Their Taxes?
Timestamps:
5:43 - Organizing tours to North Korea
10:37 - Generating revenue from the start
19:38 - Being a chairman
24:13 - Taxfix makes taxes easy
41:33 - Time to leave
About Mathis Büchi:
Mathis Büchi is the co-founder and chairman at the pdf software company smallpdf and the digital tax accountant Taxfix. His background is in International Business and Global Management and he previously ran a tour company organizing trips to North Korea together with an NGO. His university studies, as wel
EP #207 - Julian Liniger: Bitcoin Made Simple
Timestamps:
1:25 - Business is psychology
9:19 - Validating the Relai idea
18:34 - Building an MVP during a Hackathon
33:47 - Simplifying bitcoin
54:06 - Showing investors traction
About Julian Liniger
Julian Liniger is the co-founder and CEO at Relai, the world's easiest Bitcoin investing app. His educational background is in Business Administration and Psychology an he has previously worked for Gsponer Consulting Group International and synfluence.
He was originally introduced to bitcoin by a
EP #206 - Lorenzo Arizzoli-Bulato: Making Security Visible
Timestamps:
2:17 - The problem Linia solves
7:23 - Acquiring your first international customer
10:00 - The biggest competitor
15:18 - Product market fit by trial and error
19:53 - Being bootstrapped
About Lorenzo Arizzoli-Bulato
Lorenzo Arizzoli-Bulato is the co-founder and managing director at LINIA, a startup manufacturing drone software for power line inspection. His educational background is in Electrical Engineering and before starting LINIA in 2018 he worked for companies such as IASTE, A
EP #205 - Elisabete Ramalho: Making The Right Choices
Timestamps:
01:00 - What we mean when we say "strategy"
2:22 - Knowing you value proposition
11:13 - Strategy and KPIs
26:06 - Humility and seeking out help
About Elisabete Ramalho
Elisabete Ramalho is an international executive with 20 years of experience in digital transformation, technology, manufacturing and consumer goods, who is currently active as an industry lead at Google.
For Elisabete, strategy is, naturally, about making choices. These choices should be informed by answers to the fo
EP #204 - Oliver Huber: Connecting Campers Across Switzerland
Timestamps:
5:03 - Going all in from the beginning
14:00 - The problems of marketplace entrepreneurs
20:22 - The Covid effect
26:22 - Höhle der Löwen appearance
33:37 - Canton-specific regulation
About Oliver Huber
Oliver Huber is the founder and CEO of Nomady, a Swiss sustainable camping platform. Previously he worked for VP Bank and Schwyzer Kantonalbank, and has a background in Business Admin, Finance and Banking from Hochschule Luzern.
Oliver has always been an outdoors and camping enthusia
EP #203 - Elisabete Ramalho: The Best Leader You Can Be
Timestamps:
5:00 - The essence of entrepreneurship is timeless
10:08 - What makes a good leader?
18:55 - Biased language
25:46 - Being inclusive in a cost-efficient way
28:34 - Few women in top positions
About Elisabete Ramalho:
Elisabete Ramalho is an international executive with 20 years of experience in digital transformation, technology, manufacturing and consumer goods, who is currently active as an industry lead at Google.
Elisabete's maternal grandparents were a big inspiration for her.
EP #202 - Philippe Willi: Don't Fool Yourself
Timestamps:
4:14 - The business model of uploading old exams onto a server
17:19 - Winning clients with basic functionalities
28:51 - Acquiring competitors
32:47 - Using investor money for acquisitions
49:20 - Your main competitor is yourself
About Philippe Willi
Philippe Willi is a co-founder and CFO/COO at TrekkSoft, a booking solution for the tour and activities market. He studied business administration at HSG and soon after started his first business, the web agency zimtkorn, together with
EP #201 - Urs Aebischer: Turn Your Data Into Income
Timestamps:
8:47 - Getting people to join a revolutionary platform
17:10 - Diseo's revenue sharing model
36:25 - Financing a social platform
38:00 - Regulation ruins scaling
42:05 - Doing a security token offering
About Urs Aebischer:
Urs Aebischer is the CEO at Diseo, a decentralized ecosystem of interconnected social platforms of brands and organizations where users exclusively control their data and earn from it. Urs is also the co-founder and CEO at Swiss Impulse Group, which focuses on dis
EP #200 - Alain Chuard: The Founder's Playbook
Timestamps:
1:51 - The ideal founder team
7:09 - When to quit your day job
19:51 - Life after MVP
41:40 - Hiring for skills and culture
49:40 - The exit to Google
About Alain Chuard
Alain Chuard is a Swiss serial entrepreneur best known as the founder and Chief product officer of Wildfire Interactive, the social media marketing technology company acquired by Google in July 2012. At Google, Alain was responsible for overseeing Wildfire’s strategy, integration into Google’s Display Ads Division,
EP #199 - Valentina Velandia: Supporting Migrant And Refugee Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
2:17 - A family of feminists
15:25 - Finding a job in Switzerland as a foreigner
27:05 - Most people in Velandia's team are women
30:27 - The refugee crisis
51:55 - The nationalist sentiment
About Valentina Velandia
Valentina is a co-founder and partnership curator at Capacity Zurich, an incubator for startups built by refugees or migrants. She is originally from Colombia, but moved to the US after finishing high school to study Communications at California State University. S
EP #198 - Oliver Baumann: Das Corporate Startup
Timestamps
03:17 – Schritt in die Digitalisierung
10:54 – Der typische Atlanto-Kunde
15:22 – Atlanto’s Geschäftsmodell
18:11 – Kundengewinnung
23:28 – Lessons learned
About Oliver Baumann:
Oliver ist der CEO des Helvetia Spinoffs Atlanto AG, einer digitalen Administrationsplattform für KMU. Ursprünglich war Atlanto als Projekt innerhalb von Helvetia geplant und wurde schliesslich als Tochterunternehmen ausgegründet. Oliver, welcher in einer Unternehmerfamilie gross wurde, war immer interessiert
EP #197 - Daniel Borel: How Logitech Defied Expectations
Timestamps:
1:03 - Going to Stanford after EPFL
7:41 - The hardware/software combination
17:50 - Meeting Bill Gates
21:13 - Saying no to Apple
55:18 - 6 grandchildren and 1 boat
About Daniel Borel
Daniel Borel is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Logitech, the world's largest manufacturer of computer peripherals — with headquarters in Switzerland! After studying Physics at EPFL, Daniel went on to do his masters at Stanford.
In the 70's, Stanford was on fire. The Apple computer had just be
EP #196 - Gianluca Lombardi & Andreas Stöckli: Versicherungen Für Startups
Timestamps:
08:12 – 2. Säule: das Wichtigste zum BVG
10:10 – UVG Pflicht
13:32 – empfehlenswerte Versicherungen
21:48 – Cyberversicherung
32:18 – Beratung und Orientierung im Versicherungsdschungel
Über Gianluca Lombardi & Andreas Stöckli:
Andreas und Gianluca sind beide bei Helvetia tätig. Andreas ist Marktverantwortlicher für Unternehmen in der Generalagentur in Aarau. Dabei hat er mit Firmen-, wie auch mit Privatkunden engen Kontakt. Gianluca ist als Versicherungs- und Vorsorgeberater in
EP #195: Bettina Hirsig & Mannar Hielal: The Powercoder Who Escaped The Syrian War
This episode was produced in co-operation with Startup Days. Visit their website here: https://www.startupdays.ch/
Timestamps:
4:12 - Having the courage to be yourself
17:35 - The beginning of Powercoders
27:59 - The power of telling stories
31:27 - Cultural shock in Switzerland
36:34 - A purpose-driven organization
About Bettina & Mannar
Bettina Hirsig is the co-founder and lead at Powercoders, a coding academy for refugees. She has a background in marketing and business administration. M
EP #194: Stefano Saeger: Der Helvetia Venture Fund
Timestamps:
11:40 – Stage & Ticket size: Gründe für die Frühinvestition
17:24 – Entscheidungsprozess für oder gegen Investitionen
26:18 – Die Gunst der Investoren gewinnen
31:31 – Red flags für die Investoren
36:09 – Unterstützung der Startups nach der Investition
Über Stefano Saeger:
Stefano Saeger ist Investment Manager beim Helvetia Venture Fund, ein Investment Fund von Helvetia Versicherungen, welcher in Startups investiert. Der Fund wird extern durch btovbetrieben. Nach seinem Betrieb
EP #193 - Tobias & Anne Richter: 1 Couple, 2 Entrepreneurs, 3 Kids
Timestamps:
1:55 - Being a medtech entrepreneur
9:57 - Managing 2 businesses and 3 kids
17:05 - Setting company and family goals
29:17 - Why not start a company together
36:19 - The right to disconnect
About Anne & Tobias Richter
Anne Richter is the founder and CEO of Knecker, a startup which produces vegan protein-rich snacks. She got her MA in Economical Engineering from the Technische Universität Berlin and afterwards worked for a series of energ
EP #192 - Sarah Gassmann & Adrian Tüscher: Mitarbeiterbeteiligungen Für Startups
Timestamps:
1:17 - Warum Mitarbeiterbeteiligungen?
16:20 - Ab wann sollte man als Startup Mitarbeiterbeteiligungen prüfen?
30:55 - Vesting vs. Sperrfrist
43:34 - Steuerliche Sicht beim Verkauf von Aktien
1:00:14 - Umgang mit unvorhersehbaren Ereignissen
Über Adrian Tüscher und Sarah Gassmann:
Adrian Tüscher ist der Leiter des Bereichs HR Legal Services. Er berät nationale und internationale Kunden im Arbeitsrecht und ist spezialisiert auf Immigrations-, Sozialversicherungs- und Steuerfragen im
EP #191 - Anne Richter: The Climate-Friendly Snack
Timestamps:
4:27 - The early days of Knecker
13:00 - The Knecker recipe
20:09 - The Knecker buyer persona
22:24 - Packaging
31:58 - Going for bigger retailers
About Anne Richter
Anne Richter is the founder and CEO of Knecker, a startup which produces vegan protein-rich snacks. She got her MA in Economical Engineering from the Technische Universität Berlin and afterwards worked for a series of energy companies, before starting her own venture in 2020.
Anne met her co-founder Susanne while volunt
EP #190 - Adrian Locher: Building A Startup Fund In Berlin
Timestamps:
1:26 - The birth of a startup mafia
9:36 - The blue card in Germany
20:05 - Will there be a dot com bubble for AI?
33:48 - Financing an startup fund
46:49 - Launching a fund from a legal perspective
About Adrian Locher
Adrian Locher is the co-founder and former COO at the Swiss shopping platform DeinDeal, which was bought by Ringier in 2011. Adrian stayed at DeinDeal until 2015, after which he took a 1 year sabbatical to explore internet hotspots acorss the world. In 2016 he settled
EP #189 - Julian Teicke: The Insurance Startup That Raised $650m In 4 Years
Timestamps:
10:44 - Wefox's boring origin story
28:32 - Distinguishing between good and bad risks
36:20 - Not having a full calendar
37:22 - Working through stress with a coach
42:53 - Raising $650m in 4 years
About Julian Teicke
Julian Teicke is the founder and CEO at wefox, Europe's largest digital insurer. Having studied Business Administration at the University of St Gallen, Julian joined Groupon in 2009 as an intern, only to be handed much more responsibility than originally predicted, due
EP #188 - Laurent Decrue: Mastering Product Development
Timestamps:
0:55 - Do Europeans take way too long to launch?
7:00 - Always start from a problem
12:08 - What changes from MVP to the growth stage?
23:18 - The constant cycle of product development
30:59 - What's nearshoring?
About Laurent Decrue
Laurent Decrue is the co-founder of the moving company MOVU and the software company Holycode, and is currently also the CEO at Bexio. At Holycode, Laurent turns people's product dreams into reality, so there's no process he knows more intimately than p
EP #187 - Laurent Decrue: The Highs And Lows Of MOVU
Timestamps:
5:10 - The DeinDeal mafia
18:53 - The biggest mistakes at MOVU
23:40 - Going bankrupt
28:07 - Saying no to a lot of money
42:34 - Why stay at MOVU
About Laurent Decrue
Laurent Decrue is the co-founder of the moving company MOVU and the software company Holycode, and is currently also the CEO at Bexio.
He grew up with a headstrong grandfather who pressured him to take a corporate job at UBS. Despite getting along well with the people there, his problem with authority made UBS too sti
EP #186 - Peter Kempin & Patrick Arnold: Taxes And The Young Startup Founder
Timestamps:
1:03 - Young founders and taxes
9:39 - Cantons and tax advantages
24:00 - The wealth tax burden
32:19 - Employee participation plans
40:33 - Tax pitfalls in structuring a sale
About Peter Kempin and Patrick Arnold
Peter Kempin is a Team Head of Executives & Entrepreneurs at UBS, where he has been working for the past 15 years. Patrick Arnold is a tax expert at UBS and certified financial planner.
Decades in the industry have taught Peter and Patrick that young founders don't thi
EP #185 - Christian Reiter: Influencer Marketing In Switzerland
Timestamps:
1:05 - Getting started in the agency business
7:07 - Thinking about monetization
11:09 - Evaluating an exit scenario
28:26 - Co-founder chemistry
45:06 - Accidentally becoming CEO
About Christian Reiter
Christian Reiter is a co-founder and board member at Kingfluencers, the leading Swiss social influence agency. After getting his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from ETH, he created a number of ventures, most notably Hitz Dev/Bitspin and Panamove, before building Kingfluencers.
EP #184 - Jon Brezinski: Disrupting The Vending Machine Market
Timestamps:
1:00 - From the US to Engelberg
14:30 - The vending machine market
20:56 - A disruptive business model
32:51 - Who stands in the way of disruption?
44:45 - Thinking about the exit
About Jon Brezinski
Jon Brezinski is the co-founder and CEO at Invenda, a company disrupting the machine industry with connected smart technology. Invenda offers smart vending machines, digital signage and smart fridges, as well as business intelligence, customization and integration services. Their partne
EP #183 - Gina Domanig: The O.G. Cleantech Fund
Timestamps:
1:02 - How studying abroad can change your life
5:56 - How is an investor trained?
19:47 - How an investor finds companies
25:55 - How to lose an investor's trust
48:20 - Attracting institutional investors
About Gina Domanig
Gina Domanig is a managing partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, a globally recognized investment and venture capital firm with a focus on cleantech. Before becoming an investor, Gina spent 10 years working at Sulzer as head of M&A, where she met her Swiss
EP #182 - Lukas Reinhardt: The UBS Growth Advisory
Timestamps:
1:07 - The fundraising momentum in Switzerland
3:25 - Setbacks in Swiss investing today
11:53 - Going beyond the pitch
15:43 - How to approach investors
27:38 - An overview of Swiss brokers
About Lukas Reinhardt
Lukas Reinhardt is the head of UBS' Growth Advisory, the leading partner for fast-growing Swiss companies, such as On Running, VIU Eyewear and farmy.ch. He first joined UBS in 2006 as a Graduate Trainee and since then worked in different M&A and Corporate Finance positio
EP #181 - Roger Müller: Impacting The World Through Microfinance
Timestamps:
1:05 - The Goldman Sachs epiphany
9:28 - Getting into impact investment
18:53 - Women in developing countries & traditional banks
32:44 - From a 20$ loan to an SME
51:23 - Investing in European startups
About Roger Müller
Roger Müller is a board member and managing partner at Enabling Qapital, an microfinance advisory company. His background is in traditional asset management. During the 2008 financial crisis, he was working at Julius Bär's Asset Management — at that time, a co
EP #180 - Igor Susmelj: From Being A Founder To Flipping Cars
Timestamps:
1:50 - From farm boy to computer geek
10:13 - Being greedy for positive feedback
16:56 - Ending up in a broken team
23:18 - Perseverance
25:05 - Getting close to burnout
About Igor Susmelj
Igor Susmelj is the co-founder of Lightly, where he helps companies improve machine learning models by curating vision data. He has previously worked at SIX Group and Unicorn Labs, and holds a master's in Electrical Engineering from ETH.
Igor grew up on a riding stable, where he spent much of his
EP #179 - Malik El Bay: The Do Tank
Timestamps:
6:02 - Saying goodbye to Big Pharma
18:26 - Fulfilling your parents' expectations
47:53 - Stepping down from the CEO role
58:56 - Joining Dezentrum
1:05:18 - A do tank, not a think tank
About Malik El Bay
Malik El Bay is the co-founder of the household management app Flatastic and a partner at Dezentrum, a think-tank concocting positive scenarios of the future. His background is in interdisciplinary natural sciences and he has previously worked for Fit Analytics and Modum. He also c
EP #178 - Simon Youssef: The Future Of Banking
Timestamps:
8:16 - Leaving your well-paying corporate job
13:29 - The business model behind a free product
22:08 - Is Revolut a competitor?
27:29 - Being on Höhle der Löwen
29:35 - Doing a 5M tokenized crowd investment
About Simon Youssef
Simon Youssef is the co-founder and CTO of neon, a transaction account for everyday finances. Before starting his own company, he was an associate at the management consulting company Strategy&. His educational background is in Physics, and he holds a PhD
EP #177 - Mathias Wegmüller: An Entrepreneur's Guide To Optimal Health
Timestamps:
4:45 - The importance of a good social circle
10:51 - The right to disconnect
26:40 - Taking care of your body
38:32 - A good night's sleep
47:49 - Taking care of your mind
About Mathias Wegmüller
Mathias is an accomplished entrepreneur, board member and investor, with multi-year expertise in digital transformation. Together with Simon Scheurer, Mathias co-founded Qumram in 2011 and led it in different roles - CEO, Head of Business Development and Sales - until the successful exit a
EP #176 - Alexander Curiger: From Family Business To International Brand | With Lukas Reinhardt & Tom Schlup
Timestamps:
04:40 - How market dynamics affect young companies
8:38 - Validating the market
20:35 - Why startups should participate in the SEF Growth initiative
22:23 - How SEF assesses companies
33:26 - The UBS growth advisory
About Alexander, Lukas and Tom
Alexander Curiger is the managing owner of the spirits company Silverbogen, which he co-founded in 2010. Since 2010 he has also been a board member at the family business Curiger Immobilien.
Lukas Reinhardt is a corporate finance profession
EP #175 - Mathias Wegmüller: The Qumram Story
Timestamps:
1:06 - Summarizing your life in 10 year spans
6:32 - Deciding to focus on just one thing
11:11 - What made UNIC special?
19:53 - Escaping the bootstrapping trap
50:06 - Being acquired by Dynatrace
About Mathias Wegmüller
Mathias is an accomplished entrepreneur, board member and investor, with multi-year expertise in digital transformation. Together with Simon Scheurer, Mathias co-founded Qumram in 2011 and led it in different roles - CEO, Head of Business Development and Sales - unt
EP #174 - Tobias Gunzenhauser: Vom Veganismus Experiment Zur Internationalen Firma | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
3:45 - Die ersten Startup Ideen
7:48 - Wie entstand die Idee zu yamo?
15:30 - Die erste Produktion
22:10 - Tipps an Studierende die etwas starten wollen
30:50 - Gebrandete Kühlschränke im Coop
Über Tobias Gunzenhauser:
Tobias Gunzenhauser ist Mitgründer und CEO von Yamo, einem Startup, welches mit seinen gesunden Snacks für Kinder und Babies den Markt revolutioniert.
Bevor er selbst zum Gründer wurde, arbeitete er im Bereich Purchasing und Marketing Controlling bei Coop und später a
EP #173 - Remo Uherek: The Investing Masterclass
Timestamps:
6:51 - Why invest your money at all
9:53 - Explaining compounding interest
20:46 - How much you should invest
26:14 - What to invest in
40:30 - Whether you can time the market
About Remo Uherek
Remo Uherek is a founder, investor and content creator who has been active since the early 2000s. He co-founded the marketing agency Trigami, a pioneer in Swiss influencer marketing, which in 2011 merged with ebuzzing and in 2014 with Teads to create a global network. In 2012 he left this gr
EP #172 - Melanie Gabriel: Ausgaben Management Leicht Gemacht | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
2:09 - Der Weg ins Unternehmertum
5:50 - Wie aus Spesen ein spannendes Thema wurde
9:28 - Tipps für die Unternehmensgründung
20:59 - yokoy in drei Ländern
26:20 - Der Deal bei 'Die Höhle der Löwen'
Über Melanie Gabriel:
Melanie Gabriel ist Mitgründerin des Schweizer Fintechs Yokoy, welches mit künstlicher Intelligenz den Spesen- und Lieferantenrechnungsprozess von Unternehmen automatisiert.
Bevor sie 2019 die Rolle als Mitgründerin und Chief Marketing Officer bei Yokoy einnahm, stud
EP #171 - Remo Uherek: From The Heights Of Success To The Lows Of Depression
Timestamps:
5:24 - Starting an influencer marketing agency in 2006
28:39 - Merging cultures
50:03 - Receiving an acquisition notice
54:07 - Burnout, anxiety, depression
1:07:01 - Can you build a startup without burning out?
About Remo Uherek
Remo Uherek is a founder, investor and content creator who has been active since the early 2000s. He co-founded the marketing agency Trigami, a pioneer in Swiss influencer marketing, which in 2011 merged with ebuzzing and in 2014 with Teads to create a glob
EP #170 - Freddy Hunziker: New Roots Melkt Cashews Statt Kühe | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
2:11 Vom Polymechaniker zum veganen Käser
7:20 Der Weg zum veganen Käse
12:53 Traditionelle Berufe für innovative Produkte
22:00 Wann kommt der vegane Hartkäse?
27:04 Die neue Produktion in Oberdiessbach
About Freddy Hunziker:
Freddy Hunziker ist der Gründer von New Roots, einer Firma, welche nachhaltige und vegane Alternativen zu Milchprodukten herstellt. Bevor Freddy zum Unternehmer mit einer Mission wurde, absolvierte er eine Lehre als Pol
EP #169 - Julian Massler: Train Like An Astronaut
Timestamps:
1:16 - Discovering HIIT training
12:06 - How an injury leads to a company
22:30 - How a 6 min workout delivers results
35:18 - When COVID hit
51:41 - How Aurum stands out in the fitness market
About Julian Massler:
Julian Massler is the co-founder and CEO at Aurum Fit, the data-driven high intensity strength training startup that promises results with just 6 min per week. Before starting his own company, Julian was a junior investment banker at GCA Altium, and he holds a bachelor's
EP #168 - Léa Miggiano: Das Auto Im Abo | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
2:00 - Warum Léa zu Beginn wöchentlich das Auto wechselte
6:20 - Wie die Idee zu Carvolution entstand
15:06 - Die ersten Kunden
19:23 - Welches Auto wird am Meisten vermietet?
28:00 - Was macht Léa stolz?
Über Léa Miggiano:
Léa Miggiano ist Mitgründerin des Auto-Abo Anbieters Carvolution, mit welchem Kunden ihr Auto in einem all inclusive Paket zu einem monatlichen Fixpreis abonnieren können.
Heute ist Léa eine der Top 100 Women in Business im Bereich Digital Startups und wurde als
EP #167 - Cédric Waldburger: Pick Your Co-Founder Wisely
Timestamps:
3:47 - Becoming an angel investor full-time
9:43 - Tomahawk success stories
12:12 - The Hong Kong ecosystem 10 years ago
21:34 - Failing to communicate with your co-founder
About Cédric Waldburger
Cédric waldburger is a startup investor, essentialist and explorer. He invests in early-stage technology companies through his VC firm Tomahawk.vc, with a focus on fintech and decentralized finance companies. Prior to that, he built companies in the agency, consumer and blockchain sector.
EP #166 - Simon Ittig: Mit Bakterien Gegen Den Krebs | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
5:03 - Der Weg zur Krebsforschung
9:18 - Vom Doktorat zum Unternehmen
11:00 - Wann kommt das Produkt an den Markt?
28:02 - Die grössten Herausforderungen
Über Simon Ittig
Simon Ittig ist Mitgründer und CEO von T3 Pharma, einem Spin-Off der Uni Basel, welches eine Krebstherapie mit genetisch veränderten Bakterien entwickelt.
Bevor er eher zufällig zur Krebsforschung kam, studierte er Biochemie an der Universität Bern und Biotechnologie in Strasbourg und Wien. Von 2008-2012 absolviert
EP #165 - Martin Voynikov: Boosting Productivity With OKRs
Timestamps
1:08 - What an OKR is
5:02 - Why startups aren't too small to work with OKRs
13:47 - What a bad OKR looks like
21:18 - Who should own the OKRs
30:20 - How often you should discuss OKRs
About Martin Voynikov
Martin Voynikov is the director of product at Gtmhub, an OKR software for missions that matter. He previously helped create a mobile AR game called Visualz Inc, which guided kids through museums in a fun, enriching way. More recently, he was the product manager at eezy.ai, the mob
EP #164 - David Gugelmann: Die Schweizer Cyberabwehr | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
2:33 - Unternehmerischer Antrieb
13:20 - Wie sich das Exeon Gründerteam gefunden
25:15 - Budgetplanung bei langen Sales-Cycles
27:50 - Als Speaker an einer NATO Konferenz
36:12 - Challenges der Zukunft
Über David Gugelmann
David Gugelmann ist der Gründer und CEO von Exeon Analytics, einem cyber security ETH Spin-Off, welches mit seinem Algorithmus versteckte Hacker-Angriffe detektiert und Firmen so vor teuren Datenverlusten schützt.
Nach seinem Studium an der ETH forschte David Guge
EP #163 - Markus Witte: An App For People Who Love Learning
Timestamps:
1:06 - Hating school, loving learning
4:58 - A good vs successful entrepreneur.
10:21 - The early days of Babbel
19:22 - How doubt helps us
23:29 - Picking the paid subscription model
About Markus Witte
Markus Witte is the co-founder and former CEO at Babbel, the top-grossing language learning app which has been around since 2007. Nowadays he serves as its executive chairman. Markus is based in Berlin and has a background in academia, specifically the social sciences.
A passion for
EP #162 - Carlo Loderer: Die Smarte Schliessfachlösung | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
8:40 - Zippsafe's Intelligenz
11:05 - Warum der Gesundheitsbereich?
16:05 - Ist der normale Spint die einzige Konkurrenz?
29:38 - Firmengründung & grösste Ängste zu Beginn
41:03 - Die nächste Schritte
Über Carlo Loderer
Carlo Loderer ist co-founder und CEO von Zippsafe, dem Pionier für smarte, platzsparende Personalumkleiden. Vor bzw. während er Zippsafe gründete, studierte er Maschinenbau und Engineering an der ETH.
Das Bedürfnis nach einer praktischen Garderobenlösung hatte Ca
EP #161 - Daniel Protz: A Taste Of Success
Timestamps:
2:33 - Does the Ivy League open doors?
15:14 - Turning down a unicorn job
22:00 - From the Midwest to Zurich
40:17 - Trying to run yourself out of business
1:00:14 - Taking on your first investor late in the game
About Daniel Protz
Daniel Protz is the founder and CEO of FlavorWiki, a B2B digital service supporting the food and beverages industry with customer insight and data management.
With an impressive track record in reputable corporate companies such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche
EP #160 - Jeannette Morath: Das Geschäft Ohne Abfall | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps
4:50 - Warum ReCIRCLE günstiger ist als Einwegverpackungen
11:30 - Warum sogar Greta Thunberg, Einfluss aufs Geschäft hatte
17:00 - Warum Kunststoff nicht nur schlecht ist
25:45 - Die Laufbahn von Jeannette
37:00 - Neue Produktentwicklungen
Über Jeannette Morath und reCIRCLE
Jeannette Morath ist die Gründerin von reCIRCLE, der Schweizer Branchenlösung für Mehrwegverpackung in der Unterwegsverpflegung. Vor der Gründung ihres eigenen Unternehmens war sie als Projektmanagerin im Veranst
EP #159 - Tobias Gunzenhauser: Taking The Kid's Food Industry By Storm
Timestamps:
1:08 - The entrepreneur DNA
7:20 - Deciding to quit your job
15:45 - Introducing a new technology to the market
34:02 - Struggling with regulations
38:26 - 3 childless men making baby food
About Tobias Gunzenhauser
Tobias Gunzenhauser is co-founder and CEO of yamo, a B2C company revolutionizing the kid's food market with nutritious and organic options for kids of all ages. Tobias’s academic background is in Business and Marketing. However, corpora
EP #158 - Martin Stadler: Das Digitale Zuhause Für Dein Vermögen | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
1:38 - Altoo in 30 Sekunden
8:08 - Wie Altoo Hackerangriffe abwehrt
16:37 - War das Timing richtig?
24:15 - Corporate Job oder Unternehmer?
35:23 - Welchen Einfluss hatte COVID für Altoo?
Über Martin Stadler und Altoo
Martin Stadler ist CEO von Altoo, einem Software Unternehmen, welches ein digitales Cockpit für die einfache Darstellung von komplexen Vermögensstrukturen anbietet. Bevor Martin selbst zum Unternehmer wurde, startete er 1996 seine berufliche Laufbahn als KV Lehrling bei
EP #157 - Cynthia Jurytko: Let The Students Run The Fund
Timestamps:
1:16 - An international background
5:00 - 3 crucial factors for a good investment
10:23 - Losing an investment
16:30 - Launching a student fund
23:42 - How they pick the students
About Cynthia Jurytko
Cynthia Jurytko is a professional Business Angel and President of the Board of S2S Ventures, Switzerland's first student-run Venture Capital firm.
In 2012, Cynthia left the path of management consulting to become Head of Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management at Neue Zürcher Zeit
EP #156 - Jörg Sandrock: Die Schweizer Neobank | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps:
2:12 - Neon onboarding in 10 Minuten
7:45 - Das Neon Gründerteam
12:30 - Warum der Name Neon
17:00 - Welche Kreditkarte nutzt Jörg
20:56 - Vertrauensaufbau bei Kunden
Bio
Jörg Sandrock ist co-founder und CEO von neon, der ersten Schweizer Smartphone Bank ohne Kartengebühren. Vor seiner Karriere als Unternehmer, war der studierte Wirtschaftsingenieur (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) über 11 Jahre im Beratungsunternehmen Strategy& tätig, wo er auch zwei seiner drei Mitgründer
EP #155 - Serguei Beloussov: Being Valued At $2.5bn
Timestamps:
1:00 - Growing up in the Soviet Union
10:41 - Recommendations for going international
13:53 - How and when to acquire companies
16:18 - Helping your company as a scientist
21:05 - Valuation
About Serguei Beloussov
Serguei Beloussov is Founder and CEO of Acronis, a global company focused on cyber protection, recovery solutions and storage management services.
A scientist by training raised in the former Soviet Union, Serguei started his first business in graduate school. Then, in 200
EP #154 - Andreas Lenzhofer: Mit High-End Pyjamas Zum Optimalen Schlaf | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps
5:10 - Besser schlafen durch Thermoregulierung
8:00 - Skepsis beim Markteintritt
13.08 - Die USP's eines Dagsmejan Pyjamas
27.27 - Ehepartner und Co-Gründer
35.05 - Kurz vor der Kapitulation
Bio
Andreas Lenzhofer ist co-founder und CEO von Dagsmejan, ein Unternehmen, welches innovative Bekleidung für besseren Schlaf entwickelt. Bevor der Aargauer selbst zum Unternehmer wurde, studierte er Finance an der FHNW in Olten (früher HWV) und verfolgte anschliessend für knapp 20 Jahre eine Ka
EP #153 - Ross Mason: Ringing The Bell At The NY Stock Exchange
Timestamps:
1:06 - Being obsessed with running businesses
6:28 - Creating the mulesoft open source project
12:15 - Should you solve your own problem?
21:00 - Open sourcing software
1:01:30 - Getting prospective clients to follow through
1:04:08 - Letting go of your CTO position
1:07:51 - Falling into a depression
1:11:14 - Ringing the bell at the NY stock exchange
1:35:10 - Adapting to a slower paced life
About Ross Mason
Ross Mason is the founder of MuleSoft Inc. and Dig Ventures. He is also a
EP #152 - Sergio Studer: Wie Carify Die Autoindustrie Revolutioniert | Mit Swiss Economic Forum
Timestamps
07:14 – Die Bereitschaft halb so viel zu verdienen
13:35 – Point of no return und die vermeintliche Auto-Garagen-Mafia
21:33 – Von Shopify zum Aufbau einer eigenen Technologieplattform
23:50 – Unzufriedene Kunden for the win
35:47 – internationale Märkte, aufmerksame Mitbewerber und gefragte Investoren-Qualitäten
Bio
Sergio Studer ist Co-Founder von CARIFY, der grössten Schweizer Auto-Abo Plattform. Vor der Gründung studierte er Betriebswirtschaft an der Universität St. Gallen und ar
EP #151 - Oliver Marchand: Investing In A Sustainable Future
Timestamps:
1:08 - Studying computer science and meteorology
8:49 - What does transparency mean?
28:11 - Finding perseverance
36:55 - Acquiring clients
58:00 - Thinking over a business strategy
About Oliver Marchand
Oliver Marchand is Managing Director and Global Head of ESG Research and Models at MSCI Inc., a worldwide provider of support tools and services for investment needs.
Marchand finished his PhD in Computer Science and Meteorology from ETH Zürich in 2003. In 2005, he took a role as He
EP #150 - Tobias Zehnder: Building A Company During The Financial Crisis
Timestamps:
6:18 - How Tobias got into online advertising
9:11 - Working at Google in 2007
20:31 - Launching Webrepublic in 2009
29:30 - How to assess talent
51:02 - A marketing family
About Tobias Zehnder
Tobias Zehnder is Co-Founder and Partner at Webrepublic AG, a Swiss digital marketing agency boosting your company’s online performance through meaningful business value strategies. Zehnder caught the entrepreneurial bug early on: during his student days in the 2000s, Tobias was a freelancing
EP #149 - Adrienne Perramond: Trends In Swiss Angel Investing
Timestamps:
2:20 - "Stiff" Switzerland
8:13 - Crucial business angel skills
11:32 - Average ticket size
25:44 - Covid trends
34:08 - Picking 3 markets
About Adrienne Perramond
Adrienne Perramond is Mediator at GDC Médiation and Board Member at Business Angels Switzerland, one of the leading angel investing networks nationwide. Adrienne grew up in a multicultural environment between Switzerland, the US and England, where she completed her BSc in Business at the University of Buckingham. In 2001,
EP #148 - Edouard Treccani: Switzerland's First Dorm Room Fund
Timestamps:
9:21 - Putting an end to your startup
11:12 - How does a 0 equity accelerator make money?
15:24 - Wingman Ventures' investment focus
24:14 - Launching the Wingman Campus Fund
34:45 - Dealing with an ever-changing group of students
About Edouard Treccani
Edouard Treccani is Head of Partnerships at Wingman Ventures, Switzerland's leading fund for tech projects in pre-seed and seed stages. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as an intern for Crédit Agricole Suisse and BCV while balancing a sm
EP #147 - Gonzalo Sanchez: An Outsider Writing About European Tech
Timestamps:
1:25 - Dropping out of university
12:29 - The early days of Seedtable
19:38 - Adding a pay wall
26:25 - The future of the European ecosystem
36:37 - An outsider's perspective on the Swiss ecosystem
About Gonzalo Sanchez
Gonzalo Sanchez is currently Head of Growth for On Deck, an educational community for those willing to learn about technology and innovation through creativity and self-improvement. Gonzalo is a natural learner: his writing skills and curiosity for new ideas led him
EP #146 - Monica Maurer: Erfolgreich Digital Administrieren
Timestamps
1:55 - Biggest mistakes in digital administration
4:00 - Monthly, quarterly, and yearly tasks
30:01 - Where to find resources
38:30 - Core functionalities of a good financial tool
47:13 - How to find a suitable accountant/trustee
About Monica Maurer
Monica Maurer is a certified trustee and Swiss Certified Fiduciary at ACT Audit & Tax. In her role, she helps startups and SMEs with their accounting questions. Based on her many years of experience, here are some of her recommendatio
EP #145 - Jean-Michel Pittet: A $240M Ticket To Your New Job
Timestamps:
1:33 - Working a minimum wage job in America
8:12 - Finding out what you're passionate about
26:20 - The dot com bubble
53:49 - Getting acquired for $240M
1:08:17 - Merging two teams
About Jean-Michel Pittet
Jean-Michel Pittet is Vice-President of Engineering of Adobe since 2013. With his decades-long expertise of management and product development, Jean-Michel believes any tech-savvy person can become a skilful leader. His main concerns include creating meaningful digital experienc
EP #144 - Nicholas Hänny: Die Erfolgsstory Von NIKIN
Timestamps:
1:49 - First entrepreneurial activities
7:05 - The start of the NIKIN story
20:47 - Where NIKIN finds its employees
27:35 - The unplanned marketing success
39:29 - Hardcore fans tattooing the NIKIN logo
About Nicolas Hänny and NIKIN
Nicholas Hänny is the co-founder and CEO of NIKIN, a sustainable fashion startup. Nicholas started NIKIN in 2016 together with his childhood friend Robin Gnehm after having been rejected by several large consulting companies he applied to intern with. Wi
EP #143 - Tanja Dowe: Investing In Digital Health
Timestamps:
2:29 - Having a surgeon and a business woman for parents
6:13 - Are entrepreneurs born or made?
25:04 - Tanja's investment focus area
29:44 - Red flags for an investor
44:52 - The Finnish and Swiss ecosystems
About Tanja Dowe
Tanja Dowe is CEO for the Debiopharm International Innovation Fund and Board Member for Novadiscovery and Oncomfort. Using her expertise in strategic business and market demands, Tanja’s work encourages commercialization of innovative healthcare technologies an
EP #142 - Alan Frei: So Geht Online Verkaufen
Timestamps
2:46 - Why Lukas Speiser was the right co-founder
8:45 - The beginning of Amorana
18:12 - How to sell sex toys in conservative Switzerland
35:20 - Alan's online marketing framework
49:20 - Amorana acquisition
About Alain Frei and Amorana
Alan Frei is the co-founder of amorana.ch, an e-commerce platform for sex toys and lingerie. In 2020, he sold a majority stake in Amorana to the British Lovehoney Group. Before starting Amorana, he experimented with a variety of other projects such a
EP #141 - Valérie Vuillerat: Diversity In The Startup World
Timestamps:
2:11 - A solution-oriented family
17:21 - Investing in diversity from day one
22:43 - Becoming a mother and founding WeShapeTech
30:14 - Gendered language
48:25 - How to recruit
About Valérie Vuillerat
Valérie Vuillerat is CEO of Nine Internet Solutions, the leading provider of platform management solutions in Switzerland. With ample experience in board membership, business administration and entrepreneurial expertise, Valérie was also CEO for Ginetta and co-founder of Witty Works,
EP #140 - Stefan Flück: Erlebnisgeschenke Und Online-Marketing
Timestamps:
3:16 - What is Appentura?
20:26 - The Höhle der Löwen deal
28:43 - Offline vs. online marketing
33:30 - Marketing with Google
41:41 - Next milestones
About Stefan Flück and Appentura:
Stefan Flück is the founder and CEO of Appentura, a provider of surprise experience gifts. Stefan started Appentura in 2014 when he pitched the idea at a startup competition. The original idea was to offer customers the possibility to buy a surprise for themselves within a given timeframe and budget. S
EP #139 - Martin Godel: What EasyGov Can Offer Startups
Timestamps:
0:58 - Why companies need an e-government solution
3:45 - Switzerland vs Estonia
20:48 - The startup lifecycle on EasyGov
25:27 - Covid loans
34:55 - Collecting data and protecting privacy
About Martin Godel
Martin Godel is the Head of Small and Medium Size Enterprise Policy at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), based in Berne. In 2002, he earned his Master’s Degree of Law and Diplomacy from Fletcher School, administered by Tufts and Harvard University. For nearly tw
EP #138 - Karim Nemr: Wie Die Digitalisierung Dein Leben Verändern Wird
Timestamps
5:18 Challenges at Dacuda
9:25 Lead up to the Magic Leap acquisition
13:29 How PXL vision emerged
29:02 What is digitization
33:46 Tools to help with digitization
About Karim Nemr
Karim Nemr is the co-founder and CBO (Chief Business Officer) at PXL Vision, an ETH spinoff focused on digital identity verification. Karim started his career as a business developer at Dacuda, the company founded by Swisspreneur guest Michael Born. He joined the company at a very early stage and was heavil
EP #137 - Aleksandra Laska: Q&A — The Investment Journey From Start To Finish
Timestamps:
1:03 - A day in the life of a VC
3:15 - Accidentally becoming a VC
4:35 - Working for Goldman Sachs
7:13 - Looking after yourself
8:38 - How to get in touch with a VC
10:45 - Vision-based pitch vs Problem statements
13:24 - What a pitch deck should look like
19:44 - Who has the higher leverage — the VC or the startup
22:42 - How VCs finally make a decision
26:30 - A VC's criteria for a startup
43:25 - How a VC actually supports a startup
49:00 - Conflict between investors and founder
EP #136 - Judith Bellaiche: Priming Switzerland For Risk And Success
Timestamps:
1:54 - Startups disrupt the economic establishment
3:23 - Launching a parliamentary group for startups
9:05 - Misconceptions regarding startups
13:32 - The startup visa
21:07 - What's coming next?
About Judith Bellaiche and the Parliamentary Group for Startups and Entrepreneurship
Judith Bellaiche is a Swiss national politician (Swiss Green Liberal Party, GLP) and co-initiator of the Parliamentary Group for Startups and Entrepreneurship. She was first introduced to the Swiss startup
EP #135 - Thomas Dübendorfer: The Business Angels Of Switzerland
Timestamps:
5:26 - What is a business angel
30:47 - The investment process
42:15 - Whether angels accept board mandates
46:05 - Managing a portfolio of over 30 investments
59:29 - Why angels are important for the ecosystem
The Episode in 60 seconds
What you need to know about angel investing in Switzerland.
The most common mistakes of new angel investors:
- Accepting the first deal they are offered: many new angel investors fall into the trap of investing into the first deal they are offered wi
EP #134 - Simon Enderli: Taxes, Talent And Funding
Timestamps
1:58 - Founding SWESA
3:45 - Being a "working president"
5:00 - Taxes, talent and funding
13:33 - Misconceptions regarding Swiss politics
23:20 - What's the difference between the SSA and SWESA?
About Simon Enderli and SWESA
Simon Enderli is the CEO of the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation (SEF) and President of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association (SWESA). Before joining the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation as Deputy CEO in 2019, Simon spent 8 years at PostFinance, the finan
EP #133 - Thomas Dübendorfer: Leaving Google For The Startup World
Timestamps
0:57 - Academia or entrepreneurship?
2:17 - Working at Google
4:38 - What does Google do differently?
26:40 - Beating out the competition
41:55 - Creating a business angel club
About Thomas Dübendorfer
Thomas Dübendorfer is the president and co-founder of Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC), the most influential angel investing association in Switzerland, with a scope of work deeply focused on technology start-ups in their earliest developmental stages.
Thomas holds a doctoral degree in
EP #132 - Karim Maizar: Swiss Startup Politics
Timestamps:
2:00 - Joining SWESA
4:46 - Political hurdles facing Swiss companies
8:52 - The solutions SWESA proposes
16:04 - Misconceptions regarding Swiss politics
20:17 - Does Switzerland have more money than ideas?
About Karim Maizar and SWESA
Karim Maizar is a partner at Kellerhals Carrard and Board Member of SWESA, the Swiss Entrepreneur and Startup Association. He is the co-founder and head of Kellerhals Carrard’s startup desk and in this capacity has advised some of Switzerland’s most pr
EP #131 - Leif Langenskiöld: The Swiss-Certified Vitamin Water
Timestamps:
4:32 - Red Bull being illegal did wonders for its sales
18:01 - Recovering from failure
32:24 - Building on top of an existing brand
44:39 - How important is timing?
54:40 - Turning down most investors
About Leif Langenskiöld and FocusWater
Leif Langenskiöld is the founder of FocusWater, a Swiss vitamin water. After obtaining his degree in International Relations from the University of St. Gallen, Leif originally planned to join the United Nations. His plans changed significantly wh
EP #130 - Hanspeter Fässler: Autonomous Robots At Work
Timestamps:
2:00 - Developing a product at ETH
3:40 - Deciding which market to focus on
6:20 - Successful financing round
7:58 - Swiss or international investors?
15:45 - The Upscaler experience
About Hanspeter Fässler and Anybotics
Hanspeter Fässler is the co-founder and chairman of Anybotics, an ETH robotics spinoff with a focus on autonomous, walking robots for industrial inspection tasks. Hanspeter started the company in 2016, together with 5 co-founders. At this point, he was already looki
EP #129 - Simon Scheurer: Life After Exit
Timestamps:
1:39 - Adapting to the post-exit life
9:07 - Becoming an investor
27:37- Overcoming post-exit depression
37:01 - How do you spend the money?
44:37 - Peace of mind from financial freedom
The Episode in 60 seconds
Life before and after the exit.
Balancing family and business
- If you happen to already have a family when you start your own venture, you’ll face trade offs between your family and your work life. Don’t try to sugarcoat this. Be honest with yourself and your loved ones ab
EP #128 - Roxana Porada: Enabling Trust In A Digital World
Timestamps:
1:41 - Wanting to build something meaningful
5:16 - $6m Investment round
11:22 - The Upscaler experience
17:37 - Entering the growth stage
20:37 - More about Roxana
About Roxana Porada and PXL Vision
Roxana Porada is the co-founder and CPO of PXL Vision, a software provider for digital identity solutions. Roxana obtained a degree in Cybernetics and Statistics and subsequently worked as a software developer. In 2012, she joined Dacuda, the company founded by Swisspreneur guest Michae
EP #127 - Simon Scheurer: Leaving Corporate For The Big Startup Adventure
Timestamps:
1:53 - Majoring in Mathematics, Physics and Sociology
16:36 - Persisting through difficulties
25:55 - From co-workers to co-founders
36:57 - Managing competition
46:15 - Deciding whether you should sell
About Simon Scheurer and Qumram
Simon Scheurer is the co-founder and former CTO of Qumram, a provider of session replay technology for digital compliance. Simon holds a Masters in Physics, Mathematics and Sociology from the University of Berne. He started his career as CTO at the dig
EP #126 - Michele Matt: Down The Entrepreneurial Road
Timestamps:
1:55 - Motivation for taking the leap as a founder
6:27 - Expanding to Sweden
9:20 - Losing investors over Covid
13:18 - The Upscaler experience
18:14 - Shady accelerator programmes
About MyCamper and Michele Matt
Michele Matt is the co-founder and CEO of MyCamper, a peer-to-peer camper rental platform. Michele started MyCamper in 2015 when he realized that his own camper, Charly, sat idle for a large part of the year. What started as a project to rent out his own vehicle soon turne
EP #125 - Gianluca Cesari & Gregory Hitz: The Robotics Startup With 8 Co-Founders
Timestamps:
2:24 - Gianluca's international background
4:42 - Gregory's academic background
8:08 - Having 8 co-founders
11:47 - The robotics market
27:15 - Getting support as a startup
About Gianluca Cesari, Gregory Hitz and Sevensense Robotics
Gregory Hitz and Gianluca Cesari are two of the 8 co-founders of Sevensense Robotics, as well as CEO and Business Development Lead, respectively. Gregory obtained his PhD from ETH Zurich later continued as Postdoc. Gianluca also received his Masters in R
EP #124 - Sreenath Bolisetty: Purifying Water With Milk Proteins
Timestamps:
1:49 - From ETH Researcher to startup founder
9:00 - Winning Investor's Choice
10:35 - Clean tech competitors
12:43 - Having a hard time with sales
17:55 - Moving from India to Europe at 19
About Sreenath Bolisetty and Blue Act Technologies
Sreenath Bolisetty is the co-founder and CEO of BluAct Technologies, an ETH spin-off which provides a technology for water purification from heavy metals through milk proteins. In 2020, the company won the Expert’s Choice Award at the Energy Star
EP #123 - Tobias Häckermann: How Culture Makes Or Breaks A Startup
Timestamps:
4:18 - Why is culture so important?
16:17 - How to establish a culture
21:39 - Hiring the right people for your culture
37:45 - When employees leave
41:53 - Rapid fire questions
The Episode in 60 seconds
Getting company culture right.
Common mistakes around company culture
- Underestimating its importance: Your company vision makes sure everyone pulls on the same rope. The culture ensures everyone pulls in the same direction. Having a strong culture helps employees take good decisio
EP #122 - Laurent Coulot: The Sunny Future Ahead
Timestamps:
1:46 - Developing the next generation of solar modules
7:29 - Does winning awards help a startup?
8:56 - Fierce competition from China
12:03 - The non-liberalized energy market in Switzerland
14:32 - What will 2021 bring?
About Laurent Coulot and Insolight:
Laurent Coulot is the co-founder and CEO of Insolight, a photovoltaic startup. Laurent started Insolight in 2015, together with his two co-founders, Mathieu Ackermann and Florian Gerlich. Within 5 years, the company has grown to
EP #121 - Tobias Häckermann: Putting An End To Meeting Madness
Timestamps:
2:34 - Why study law and not business?
18:06 - Can you work on a startup part-time?
34:46 - Being motivated by challenges.
48:31 - Having a big client not renew the contract
59:58 - Companies asking for discounts
About Tobias Häckermann and Sherpany:
Tobias Häckermann is the co-founder and CEO of Sherpany, a provider of meeting management software for leadership meetings. Tobias started his first company right out of high school. As a long time practitioner of martial arts, he was t
EP #120 - Liliane Ableitner: The Sustainable Neighborhoods Of Tomorrow
Timestamps:
2:00 - Why start your own company?
7:29 - Winning Investor's Choice at Energy Startup Day
12:15 - How to stand out from competition
28:24 - Closing a funding round
33:23 - Choosing between Germany, Switzerland and Austria
About Liliane Ableitner and Exnaton:
Liliane Ableitner is the co-founder and CEO of Exnaton, a software provider for energy communities, allowing neighbors to trade renewable energy amongst each other. Before starting Exnaton, Liliane was a Doctoral Researcher at t
EP #119 - Teo Borschberg: The Overnight Pivot
Timestamps:
2:11 - Typical pivoting mistakes
5:41 - Finding the right customer
15:32 - Generating your first revenue
18:49 - Maximizing growth
25:19 - Product-market fit
The episode in 60 seconds
Pivoting your business idea to success.
Mistakes to avoid
- Waiting too long to pivot because you have gotten emotionally attached to the solution or somehow locked yourself in too early.
- Iteration cycles which are too long. Building out a finished and polished product for every iteration will make
EP #118 - Teo Borschberg: Breaking Boundaries With Voice AI
Timestamps:
2:18 - Being André Borschberg's son
15:45 - The market for voice AI
21:08 - A co-founder leaves the company
26:52 - How to look for advisors
32:59 - Having offices in several countries
About Teo Borschberg and OTO.ai:
Teo Borschberg is the co-founder and CEO of oto.ai, an AI-powered voice intelligence solution. Teo started his entrepreneurial career after obtaining his maturité (high school diploma). He relocated to China, where he spent 8 months working in a factory, 6.5 days a wee
EP #117 - Tatiana Cogne: Startups In Lausanne
Timestamps:
1:39 - The START Lausanne
6:07 - The team
9:25 - The Covid challenge
11:58 - The resources of the Romandy ecosystem
15:09 - What's next for Tatiana?
About Tatiana Cogne and START Lausanne:
Tatiana Cogne is the President of START Lausanne and Head of Communication at Swiss Solar Boat. Tatiana joined START in 2019 as an event organizer, after having participated in START Hack and START Summit in St. Gallen. After 9 months as Event Organizer, she advanced to President of the chapter in
EP #116 - Mina Kamel: Sky-High Innovation At ETH
Timestamps:
1:26 - From Milano to Zurich
9:08 - The problem with the inspection of inaccessible areas
17:13 - Getting business know-how for your all-tech team
20:56 - New drones in town
32:44 - Preparing for the future
About Mina Kamel and Voliro:
Mina Kamel is the co-founder and CEO of Voliro, a producer of robotic drones for inspection and light maintenance at height. Mina obtained his Bachelors in Automation Engineering Technology from the Politecnico di Milano before moving to Zurich to obt
EP #115: Aldo Podestà: Democratizing Access To AI
Timestamps:
1:29 - Why create an AI startup?
9:00 - Having a great team
10:33 - Combining vision with short-term strategy
16:57 - Creating a company narrative
19:07 - Tips for students today
About Aldo Podestà:
Aldo Podestà is the founder and CEO of L2F, the company behind the platform Giotto.ai, which builds and hosts high performance machine learning applications. Before starting Giotto in 2017, Aldo Podestà worked in Sales Strategy at Philip Morris, in Lausanne. The idea for Giotto was born
EP #114 - Yoko Spirig: The Benefits Of Employee Participation Plans
Timestamps:
2:19 - Why doesn't Europe get employee participation plans right?
7:04 - How much equity should you give your employees?
16:26 - How to communicate stock option plans to your team
23:35 - The politics of stock option plans
27:53 - Rapid fire questions
Episode in 60 seconds
Getting employee participation plans right.
Why participation plans are important
- As a startup, you’ll often struggle to compete with established companies on the salary front. Stocks are your secret weapon to
EP #113 - Sébastien Jaffaux: The Swiss Solar Boat
Timestamps
1:21 - Motivation for starting your own business
4:24 - Rocking with your friends
7:46 - Struggling with team management
10:54 - What is the Swiss Romandy ecosystem doing well?
16:07 - More about Sébastien
Biography
Sébastien Jaffaux is the founder and CTO of the Swiss Solar Boat Association, a project created by engineering students from EPFL and HEIG-VD. Swiss Solar Boat aims to create a solar powered racing boat from scratch, to compete in contests such as the Monaco Solar & E
EP #112 - Yoko Spirig: Creating The Most Flexible Equity Management Solution
Timestamps:
2:37 - From studying physics to becoming an entrepreneur
9:55 - Splitting roles
18:01 - The initial idea for Ledgy
22:10 - Finding your first clients
30:12 - Dealing with American competitors
Biography:
Yoko Spirig is the co-founder and CEO of Ledgy, an equity management company for startups and high growth companies. Yoko studied Physics at ETH Zurich, the University of Oxford and CERN. She was also project lead of Swissloop, helping to build the first Hyperloop pod in Switzerland.
EP #111 - Alessandra Rojas: Tech4Impact In The Swiss Romandy
Timestamps:
1:34 - The reason behind Tech For Impact
7:20 - Who's the target student?
11:51 - Milestones so far
17:40 - Toughest challenge
25:56 - More about Alessandra
About Alessandra and Tech4Impact
Alessandra Rojas is the manager of the EPFL Changemakers program, an incubator program which is part of the EPFL’s Tech4Impact initiative for accelerating ground-breaking and sustainable technological solutions to create positive societal and environmental impact. She was also a co-initiator of V
EP #110 - Luiza Dobre: Revolutionizing Medical Care
Timestamps:
7:35 - Reasons for leaving the corporate world
16:19 - Finding the right problem to solve
23:11 - Do solo founders work?
38:09 - Dealing with rejection
46:07 - The scalability issue
About Luiza Dobre:
Luiza Dobre is the founder and CEO of Komed Health, a healthcare communications platform. She started Komed Health in 2016, after a long time toying with different ideas and struggling to find the right co-founder. Komed Health emerged from the realization that while communication is a
EP #109 - Anaïs Matthey-Junod: Empowering People Through Entrepreneurship
Timestamps:
1:22 - Starting a student project
8:32 - The team behind sun'n'go
16:15 - Tips for making remote teams work
17:34 - Advice for future entrepreneurs
22:07 - The French-speaking Swiss startup scene
About Anaïs and Sun'n'go:
Anaïs Matthey-Junod obtained a BA in Environmental Science and Engineering and an MA in Energy Management and Sustainability from the EPFL. In the last year of her masters, the idea for sun'n'go was born, after a trip to India with EPFL in 2019. In the following mo
EP #108 - Caspar Coppetti: Going Up Against Nike And Adidas
Timestamps:
2:30 - Meeting future co-founders
9:19 - Deciding to go up against Nike and Adidas
21:35 - Finding a business partner
47:14 - Dealing with competition
49:47 - Investors
About Caspar Coppetti:
Caspar Coppetti is co-founder of On, one of the world’s fastest growing sports brands. Caspar started On together with his two co-founders Olivier Bernhard and David Allemann in 2010 based on their patented CloudTec® technology. On shoes have famously been wo
EP #107 - Jeremias Meier: Optimize Sales, Jumpstart Growth
Timestamps:
10:22 - Understanding your clients (needle question)
14:55 - Getting your customers to use your product more often
17:00 - Achieving negative churns, incentivizing referrals
24:51 - The best lifetime value vs customer acquisition costs ratio
36:53 - When to pull the plug on a certain channel
The Episode in 60 Seconds
How to find, optimize and scale your sales funnel from early stage to exit.
The early mistakes to avoid
- Sell like the incumbent: just because one sales funnel is wo
EP #106 - Jeremias Meier: Spinning A Product Out Of A Service Business
Timestamps:
12:56 - Turning a company tool into a product
25:00 - Developing a brand with 25 other people
34:53 - Dealing with the complexity of a growing company
43:23 - Being laughed at by more traditional companies
56:38 - Finding work-life balance
About Jeremias Meier:
Jeremias Meier is the co-founder and managing director of Bexio, a company offering SaaS around payrolling, invoicing and accounting. Bexio was born out of Jeremias’ first business iBrowse, that he started while still at univ
EP #105 - Mark Essam: Is Vertical Farming The Future?
Timestamps:
5:11 - Getting fired
18:42 - The business model behind vertical farming
22:19 - Having to change your founding team
32:40 - Having an employee steal data from you
37:17 - The ETH Entrepreneur Club
About Mark Essam:
Mark Essam is the co-founder of YASAI, a vertical farming startup and ETH spin-off. The idea to pursue vertical farming originated from the book "The Vertical Farm: How to feed the world in the 21st century" by Dr. Dickson Despommier, which Mark read during his exch
EP #104 - Lukas Stuber: Q&A - Data Driven Marketing In 2020
Timestamps:
3:54 - Most relevant digital marketing channels
13:50 - How do you know you're on the right track?
19:33 - Talking budget
31:15 - When should you switch to an offline marketing channel?
38:41 - Best tool setup
About Lukas Stuber:
Lukas Stuber is the Managing Director of Dept, a digital agency. Previously, he had founded Yourposition, a digital marketing agency specialized in search engine optimization, which was acquired by Dept in 2018. In 2004, Lukas published the book “Su
EP #103 - Doris Albisser: Roadmap To The Asian Startup Market
Timestamps:
8:03 - When to expand to Asia
17:54 - Knowing how to change your mentality
19:21 - Will English take you far?
28:26 - What can Europe learn from Asia?
30:25 - What can Asia learn from Europe?
The Episode in 60 seconds
Why expand your business to Asia
- Asian markets are growing rapidly, with a strong increase in purchasing power.
- Asia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has long caught up with the US and is almost unparalleled in its agility and speed.
Preparing to expand your business t
EP #102 - Doris Albisser: From Translator To Master Entrepreneur
Timestamps:
2:25 - Turning a translation company into a profit center
15:21 - Finding your core values
19:48 - Dealing with employees who don't fit your culture
25:13 - Going international
46:34 - Working with investors
About Doris Albisser:
Doris Albisser is the founder and executive Chairwoman of Evaluglobe AG. Through Evaluglobe, she focuses on board mandates, growth investments and advising companies’ in their international expansion. Before starting Evaluglobe, Doris served as the Group CE
EP #101 - Nicholas Hänny: The Bootstrapped Way To Success
Timestamps:
0:55 - Common mistakes with bootstrapping
2:40 - What's the right channel for you?
12:43 - Offline vs online ads
17:12 - Green Friday sale
24:13 - Scaling your social media presence
The Episode in 60 Seconds:
Bootstrapping your marketing from scratch
The first commandment of bootstrapping: do it yourself. Don’t pay agencies or lawyers for things you can do yourself or copy paste from templates.
Don’t start with branding, start with the performance marketing of your product. Thi
EP #100 - Alfred Escher: Wie Ein Unternehmer Die Schweiz Für Immer Veränderte (Ein Gespräch Mit Joseph Jung)
Timestamps:
6:01 - Wie die Eisenbahnfrage die Schweiz für immer verändert hat
30:53 - Wer ist Alfred Escher als Mensch?
48:03 - Wie Escher mit Verlust klargekommen ist
59:42 - Umgang mit Krankheit
1:24:48 - Hat Alfred Escher ein tragisches Ende gefunden?
About Joseph Jung and Alfred Escher:
Joseph Jung is a historian, consultant and the author of one of the most influential biographies of Swiss entrepreneur Alfred Escher as well as “Laboratorium de
EP #99 - Nicholas Hänny: Swiss Sustainable Fashion
Timestamps:
5:40 - Why go through college?
10:08 - Going from idea to execution
21:15 - Building a startup part-time
35:33 - Building a community behind a brand
48:54 - Turning investors down
About Nicholas Hänny:
Nicholas Hänny is the co-founder and CEO of Nikin, a sustainable fashion startup. Nicholas started Nikin in 2016 together with his childhood friend Robin Gnehm. Within only 4 years, the startup grew to 30 employees and CHF 7.2 m revenue. In 2019, Nicholas received the “Aargauer of the
EP #98 - Phil Lojacono: Q&A - The Peace And War-time CEO
Timestamps:
4:00 - Hiring the best people
23:28 - The management team
28:02 - Dealing with investors
41:04 - Being Chief Culture Officer
45:04 - Are great CEOs born or made?
About Phil Lojacono:
Phil Lojacono is the co-founder and CEO of Advanon, one of Switzerland’s formerly fastest growing fintech startups. Advanon offers a platform for SMEs to bidge long payment terms by providing them with liquidity through financial investors. Phil started Advanon in 2015, shortly after his internship at G
EP #97 - Dorina Thiess: Founders In Love
Timestamps:
0:58 - Starting a company with your significant other
2:08 - How to evaluate the potential of a founding team
7:55 - Added pressure to your relationship
17:10 - Splitting roles
21:14 - Challenging situations
The episode in 60 seconds:
Starting a business with your significant other can be a rewarding experience. In this episode, Dorina shared her insights about how to make it work.
Rules and communication
- Starting your business is a 24/7 endeavor and it can become overbear
EP #96 - Dorina Thiess: From Grad School To The Startup World
Timestamps:
1:27 - Becoming an entrepreneur after an impressive student CV
8:48 - Discovering the vet market
19:47 - Convincing investors about your hardware tech
25:45 - Winning American clients remotely
31:19 - The trickiness of raising Swiss funds
About Dorina Thiess:
Dr. Dorina Thiess is the CEO and co-founder of Piavita AG, a medtech startup that develops and distributes digital veterinary diagnostic systems. Previously, Dorina worked for the innovation team at BHS in Munich and in the US
EP #95 - Fabrice Aeberhard: Building Brands That Last
Timestamps:
0:55 - Branding mistakes Swiss startups make repeatedly
5:56 - Building a brand as a group
10:02 - Steps to creating a strong brand
15:03 - Target client vs your personal startup story
20:14 - Rapid fire questions
The Episode in 60 Seconds:
Getting inspired for your brand
- Building a recognizable brand is like building a character - it can come with its own edges and quirks.
- Your brand is probably not the first thing you need to worry about but if you move beyond the proof of co
EP #94 - Peter Käser: Disrupting Swiss E-commerce
Timestamps:
2:57 - Splitting roles between 5 co-founders
10:05 - Testing the market
19:24 - Having net promoter score as your main KPI
25:40 - Disrupting the market and facing opponents
35:31 - Starting to hire people full-time
About Peter Käser:
Peter Käser is the Founder and COO of VIU Ventures AG, a Swiss eyewear brand. He started VIU in 2013, together with his co-founder Kilian Wagner, both of them bespectacled. VIU was originally conceived as an online-only store, integrating the entire ey
EP #93 - Renato Stalder: Q&A - Finance in Switzerland 101
Timestamps:
1:48 - What can I do on my own and where do I need professional finance advice?
2:55 - What are the best tools to manage your finances?
5:00 - What's the best business credit card out there?
7:20 - Can I use my Swiss bank account to accept international payments?
8:56 - Managing international payments
10:51 - How does the Swiss tax system work?
17:51 - Is Switzerland really tax heaven?
20:52 - Optimizing tax return
22:22 - Do freelancers pay less taxes?
25:24 - Personal finance advic
EP #92 - Yaël Meier: Selling To Gen Z
Timestamps:
2:11 - What mistakes do Swiss companies make when it comes to Gen Z?
6:19 - Aligning company goals with Gen Z's activist streak
19:13 - Leading people older than you
22:44 - Which social media platforms are currently relevant?
31:00 - How to sell to Gen Z
The Episode In 60 Seconds:
What is Generation Z?
Young people born between 1995 - 2010, NOT Millennials.
How to win Generation Z as customers
- Do not simply base your assumptions on conversations with your kids.
- Talk TO member
EP #91 - Yaël Meier: Actress, Journalist, Entrepreneur
Timestamps:
1:13 - Becoming an actress at 14
11:40 - Not going to university
14:45 - Launching your own project
15:40 - Sneaking into fashion shows
27:57 - Starting a company with your romantic partner
About Yël Meier:
Yaël Meier is an actress, journalist and the co-founder of Zeam, an agency helping companies leverage Generation Z. At the age of 14, Yaël held her first movie role in the Swiss Drama “Upload”. She later on also featured in movies such as «Die fruchtbaren Jahre sind vorbei» and «
EP #90 - Startup Of The Week: Relai
Timestamps:
1:07 - Bitcoin and entrepreneurship
8:57 - Biggest milestones so far
15:53 - Having a hard time with fundraising
About Julian and Relai:
Julian Liniger is the co-founder and CEO of Relai, a startup aiming to empower everyone to invest in Bitcoin. Julian was an early crypto currency aficionado and the go-to person for his friends for anything crypto-related. This made him realize that there was no easy way for the “average Joe” to purchase Bitcoin - and that’s how Relai was born. He
EP #89 - Verena Kaiser: Q&A On Fundraising Essentials
Timestamps:
2:05 - What's the difference between fundraising for growth vs seed financing?
10:01 - How to find the right investors
17:31 - Negotiating with investors
21:28 - What kills a fundraising process?
27:54 - How much money should you raise?
About Verena Kaiser:
Verena Kaiser served as the Head of Direct Investment at UBS before becoming Chief of Staff, Corporate & Institutional Clients International in May 2020. As Head of Direct Investment, she was responsible for due diligence and
EP #88 - Startup Of The Week: Christian Fehr
Timestamps:
1:03 - Starting a marine tech startup
6:01 - Is the Swiss marine tech market big enough for Clickahoy?
7:55 - Competing with Americans
About Christian and clickahoy:
Christian Fehr is the CEO and co-founder of clickahoy, a Swiss marine-tech startup. The founding team behind clickahoy is the same as for ship-ahoy.ch, the boat sharing platform launched in 2016. The founders saw a personal need to make owning a boat “smart” the way owning a car or a house can be. The company is current
EP #87 - Dennis Just: Bootstrapping Your Company To Scale
Timestamps:
0:45 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to bootstrapping?
14:20 - Boostrapping and growing fast
17:43 - Constant AB testing
25:48 - Building a solid user base
32:45 - Organic traffic & relying on Google
The Episode in 60 seconds:
Considerations when deciding whether to bootstrap:
Bootstrapping is a long term project which needs time and dedication.
Once you decide to get on the VC train, you can’t go back.
External funding rounds also mean val
EP #86 - Startup Of The Week: Logmind
Timestamps:
7:16 - Competition
8:51 - Should you get a patent?
11:24 - What should you fundraise for?
About Ketevani and Logmind:
Ketevani Zaridze is the CEO and Founder of Logmind, an AI-accelerated log data analytics platform. Originally from Georgia, she got her Masters in Computer Science from EPFL in Switzerland. After gaining work experience at Xerox, Open Systems and Cern, she started Logmind in 2018. Recently the company signed their first enterprise customer. They are now looking to ra
EP #85 - Dennis Just: Starting 4 Companies Before Turning 30
Timestamps:
1:23 - Studying economics and engineering
10:16 - Starting a company at 16
19:09 - Why move from the startup world to corporate?
52:52 - Jumping around from company to company
1:10:13 - Burnout and company responsibility
About Dennis Just:
Dennis Just is the CEO of smallPDF, a SaaS company which offers all-in-one easy-to-use online PDF tools such as merging, editing and signing. Dennis is a serial entrepreneur, having started his first company, dSlash.de, while still in high school.
EP #84 - Startup Of The Week: Turicode
Timestamps:
0:48 - Why start your own company?
10:35 - What are they fundraising for?
11:55 - Tackling sales
About Martin and Turicode:
Martin Keller is the co-founder and CEO of turicode, a machine learning based document extraction solution. The company bootstrapped to CHF 1m in revenue. Their technology, MINT.extract, works to extract information from any type of document, supporting their customers along the entirety of their business processes. They are looking to raise CHF 2m to diversify
EP #83 - Reto Lämmler: Q&A On Pricing Tips And Tricks
Timestamps:
2:05 - Why do startups need a pricing strategy?
7:55 - Recurring revenue vs One-time fees
18:40 - How the buyer persona influences pricing
32:28 - Maximizing revenue
37:41 - Are discounts a good idea?
About Reto Lämmler:
Reto Lämmler is the CEO and co-founder of Testing Time, a recruiting platform for usability test users. Some of Reto’s previous ventures include: Xellery, a cloud-based collaboration service for Microsoft Excel, which was sold to expressocorp.com and Rem
EP #82 - Startup Of The Week: Caressoma
Timestamps:
2:15 - What problem does Caressoma fix?
5:44 - Who uses Caressoma?
8:37 - What milestones has Caressoma recently achieved?
About Sophia and Caressoma:
Sophia Borowka is the CEO and co-founder of Caressoma, a startup providing ultrasound diagnostics for monitoring soft tissue injuries. Sophia is a physicist by training and has spent several years as CERN Fellow in Geneva. Together with her two co-founders, Jana Maes, an experienced Osteopathy practitioner and Jinesh Kallunkathariyil,
EP #81 - David Alain Bloch: The Champions Of Legal AI
Timestamps:
4:34 - Where David met his co-founders
10:28 - How to sell to lawyers
15:41 - Does Legartis have competition?
16:35 - Finding the right talent
19:29- Why create a second office in Lisbon?
About David Alain Bloch:
David Alain Bloch is the CEO and co-founder of Legartis, a legal tech company which uses AI to help businesses with their legal needs. David is an Attorney at Law admitted at the Zurich bar. He was a member of the “Global Shapers”, a World Economic Forum (WEF) community net
EP #80 - Startup Of The Week: UNISERS
Timestamps:
2:32 - What problem does UNISERS solve?
8:01 - What milestones has UNISERS reached so far?
9:25 - Does UNISERS have competitors?
About Fabian and UNISERS:
Fabian Walter is the co-founder and CTO of UNISERS, an ETH spinoff specialized in automated analysis equipment for high-purity liquids used in semiconductor production. UNISERS emerged out of the ETH pioneer fellowship in 2017. The company holds a patent for their technology and is currently looking to raise $ 1.2 m to expand thei
EP #79 - Manuel Hartmann: Q&A On B2B Sales
Timestamps:
2:06 - Why are sales so important?
5:20 - When should you start having your own sales team?
6:25 - What are the different stages of the B2B process?
7:42 - How do you find the right target client?
8:29 - Should you focus on one industry only?
11:52 - How to qualify leads
14:03 - Testing sales channels
18:19 - Speed up the selling process
24:19 - How to keep in touch with customers
27:21 - How to follow up
28:27 - Do awards and news pieces help you close sales?
29:35 - What are the mo
EP #78 - Startup Of The Week: What To Label
Timestamps:
4:00 - What milestones has What To Label achieved?
4:47 - Internationalization
8:11 - Toughest challenges to overcome
About Igor and What To Label:
Igor Susmelj is the co-founder of WhatToLabel, a Data Preparation Platform for Machine Learning. Together with his co-founder, Matthias Heller, they bring together the best of the tech and business world. WhatToLabel is both a HSG and an ETH spinoff. Currently, they are looking for funding to take them to the next milestone - 100k in rec
EP #77 - Lars Mangelsdorf: Getting Swiss Sales Right
Timestamps:
1:43 - What common mistakes do Swiss companies make in the B2B sales area?
10:14 - How to get the contact details of future customers
18:49 - Is there such a thing as too many follow-ups with clients?
26:21 - Selling something before it even exists
37:06 - The best sales team set-up
The Episode in 60 seconds
The ABC of B2B sales
First Contact
- Consider a mix of standardized outreach via cold emails and personalized strategies via phone or more creative means (ever thought about s
EP #76 - Startup Of The Week: Realbot Engineering
Timestamps:
1:41 - Why start your own company?
6:35 - Winning over clients
15:48 - A young entrepreneur's summer jobs
About Alex and Realbot Engineering:
Alex Tyropolis is a co-founder and CEO at Realbot Engineering, a startup offering robot technology for remote viewing of real estate. He co-founded the company after years of experience in the real estate industry as an analyst for Engel & Völkers. After only 2 years of bootstrapping, the company already has a working product on the market
EP #75 - Melanie Gabriel: From Startup Employee To Startup Founder
Timestamps:
2:37 - Why Melanie decided to start her own company
9:08 - Big founding teams
17:41 - Closing a big financing round just before covid-19
26:34 - How to hire the right people
30:46 - Ensuring good communication in a growing team
About Melanie Gabriel:
Melanie Gabriel is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Yokoy, a SaaS company which leverages Artificial Intelligence to fully automate all expense- and company credit card processes. Before starting Yokoy, Melanie joined Dizmo
EP #74 - Startup Of The Week: onCyt
Timestamps:
3:16 - What problem does onCyt solve?
11:50 - Possible competitors for onCyt
20:44 - Fundraising horizon
About Michael and onCyt:
OnCyt, a startup offering microbial monitoring, emerged from Michael Besmer’s PhD at ETH Zurich. He assembled a team of co-founders from a diversity of backgrounds including engineering and business development. After 3 years, the team is already looking back on 20+ successful projects and over 800k CHF in revenue.
Don’t forget to give us a follow on our
EP #73 - Katja Berlinger: Successful Boards of Directors
Timestamps:
1:47 - What do Swiss startups often get wrong with boards of directors?
6:00 - What different skills need to be present in a board of directors?
12:06 - How to best compensate your board
18:52 - How can a board help your startup achieve success?
23:05 - How should a startup collaborate with a board?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Setting up your Board of Directors - the right way.
The right composition
Get diversity of perspectives and skills, be sure you cover at least: legal, finance
EP #72 - Startup of the Week: Helio
Timestamps:
1:36 - What motivated Kevin to start his own company?
7:50 - What milestones has Kevin's startup recently achieved?
11:29 - Tough challenges to overcome
About Kevin and Helio:
Kevin Häfeli is the co-founder of Helio, a platform to connect demand and supply of computing power. He started Helio in 2018 together with Christoph Buchli. Previously, he worked as a DevOps engineer at Zatoo and Snowflake Productions and co-founded the e-commerce venture Brandeer Sports.
Don’t forget to giv
EP #71 - Katja Berlinger: How Passion Leads To Success
Timestamps:
2:00 - Going from journalism, to law, to business
13:22 - Being the youngest board member around
20:00 - Determining founding values
27:32 - Finding the balance between commitment and change
36:16 - Having a stay at home husband
About Katja Berlinger:
Katja Berlinger is the CEO of Swiss Medi Kids and a professional board member. Katja started out as a journalist at the publication “Cash”. She quickly realized that she’d rather have an impact herself than write about people who do. C
EP #70 - Beat Brechbühl & Michèle Remund: Legal Q&A Session
Timestamps:
2:17 - Where can startups get help during the corona crisis?
3:11 - What legal aspects do Swiss startups not pay enough attention to?
6:52 - Will copy pasting terms and conditions save me legal fees?
08:01 - How do I best deal with liability and risk?
09:05 - What should online shops address before going live?
11:10 - Can geographic names be used to name products?
17:53 - How will the corona crisis affect valuations?
20:25 - Founder-friendly ways of writing shareholder agreements
25:
EP #69 - Ariel Lüdi: Managing The Exit
Timestamps:
1:44 - What mistakes do Swiss founders repeatedly make, when it comes to exits?
11:55 - Coping with stress and pressure
21:50 - Always striving for the next level
32:18 - Knowing what your company is worth
40:32 - Achieving billion dollar exits
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Dream Big – Sell Big
Swiss people have a tendency to sell themselves and their business short. Instead of going for the billion dollar deal, they settle for the first offer which comes their way. Dare to be great a
EP #68 - Ariel Lüdi: How To Sell a Company For 1.5bn $
Timestamps:
11:31 - Scaling from 0 to 150 million in revenue within 6 years
23:23 - Why not just enjoy a billionaire fortune?
35:08 - Closing an intercontinental gap
43:50 - Ariel's most surreally successful moment
52:34 - Being the "anti-venture capitalist"
About Ariel Lüdi:
Ariel Lüdi is a parachute stuntman turned millionaire. After dropping out of his physics degree at ETH Zurich, Ariel joined IBM as a developer. From there he joined Oracle, where he discovered his passion and talent for sa
EP #67 - Tanja Lau: Q&A On Raising Kids And Growing A Startup
Timestamps:
2:05 - Managing a work-life balance
3:42 - Missing half of your own wedding
8:00 - Finding out what's really important
14:08 - Preparing for motherhood
18:19 - Finding a challenging part-time job
20:55 - Why not a corporate career?
29:57 - The role of Tanja's husband
32:43 - How to split parenting responsibilities
40:23 - Swiss women in leadership positions
46:05 - What does motherhood teach you about business?
About Tanja Lau:
Tanja Lau is an experienced entrepreneur and the founde
EP #66 - Philipp Stauffer: Is Silicon Valley the Promised Land for Startups?
Timestamps:
1:52 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make when it comes to moving to Silicon Valley?
16:02 - When should you not go to the Valley?
29:56 - Hiring the right sales person
32:28 - Tackling the PR and marketing game
43:23 - What shocks Swiss companies when they come to the US?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Competing with Silicon Valley Startups – what to expect
Switzerland is generally strong in research and not so strong in productization and marketing. Be aware of this and give your a
EP #65 - Philipp Stauffer: Greed For Good
Timestamps:
2:10 - Where does Philipp's entrepreneurial spirit come from?
15:31 - Getting an American green card during the 9/11 era
24:23 - When a mission-driven company fails
34:18 - The 1/1/1 program
48:40 - How can young people find their mission?
About Philipp Stauffer:
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder of and Managing Partner at FYRFLY, an early stage technology venture firm. Amongst their former and current portfolio companies are Beekeeper, Philz Coffee and AngelList. Prior to becoming
EP #64 - Daniel Sandmeier: The Financial Matchmaker
Timestamps:
2:13 - How does a corporate career give an entrepreneur the upper hand?
11:28 - The lender-borrower ratio
20:12 - Switching work flows
27:38 - Developing the user interface
28:29 - Plans for the future
About Daniel Sandmeier:
Daniel Sandmeier is the CEO of Instimatch, a platform for digitizing money markets. Instimatch was named “Growth Startup Of The Year” at the Swiss Fintech Awards 2020. Before joining Instimatch, Daniel had spent 12 years at Credit Suisse and over 2 decades in b
EP #63 - Andreas Iten: When Startups and Corporates Team Up
Timestamps:
2:15 - Why does a large corporation decide to get involved with startups?
11:26 - What F10 brings to startups
23:15 - How can startups and corporates succeed together?
25:35 - How to convince opponents
33:40 - How else does Andreas help startups?
About Andreas Iten:
Andreas Iten is the co-founder of F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator and also the head at SIX FinTech Ventures. He has worked for over 15 years within leading institutions in the IT service, airline & transporta
EP #62 - Dorian Selz: Internationalization
Timestamps:
2:34 - What do Swiss startups get wrong, when it comes to internationalization?
14:11 - How to organize a team
19:32 - The role of fundraising in internationalization
30:55 - How to manage a successful partnership
40:15 - Risk assessment in Europe vs in the US
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Getting the timing right
Rather than going and planting a flag abroad, consider letting your customers lead the way. Wherever you find a “big fish”, find an agreement to localize for them.
Finding
EP #61 - Dorian Selz: Getting to 50 million In Revenue Within 2 Years
Timestamps:
7:26 - How Dorian found the right team
23:48 - Going from 0 to 50 million in revenue within 2 years
29:58 - Why leave a hugely successful company?
40:14 - When's the right time to launch a certain product in the market?
47:05 - Starting an A.I. business
About Dorian Selz:
Dorian is the founder of local.ch, Switzerland’s leading local search platform which he grew to >$50M revenues in 4 years. Today he is co-founder and CEO Squirro.com, a personal digital research assistant. The c
EP #60 - Christian Burger: Q&A On Organizational Setup For Startups
Timestamps
2:45 - Do I need a co-founder? When is it absolutely essential to get one?
4:15 - How to get to the right organizational set-up
9:47 - What's a good vision for a company?
16:59 - How small is a lean startup? What are the advantages?
18:42 - How do I find the right people?
30:09 - Should you work with freelancers? Can you onboard them later on?
32:16 - Getting an inexpensive, rockstar team for you startup
33:55 - Should every employee get stock options?
36:28 - What role do team meetin
EP #59 - Manuel Grenacher: How To Grow Your B2B Business
Timestamps
2:10 - What mistakes do you see Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to growth and scale?
11:27 - How to manage distribution partners
17:28 - Marketing and customer service: can you handle it remotely?
22:30 - Challenges of scaling up
31:56 - What role does company culture play when it comes to scaling?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Getting the basics right
Don’t underestimate how long it will take you to build sales channels. Invest time into developing them at the same time a
EP #58 - Manuel Grenacher: A Swiss Serial Entrepreneur
Timestamps:
2:24 - Going from founder to employee
17:36 - How doing an apprenticeship helped him with his startup
33:19 - Building an international brand
38:57 - Starting a spin off of his own company
47:42 - Manuel Grenacher's future plans
About Manuel Grenacher:
Manuel Grenacher is the founder and fmr. CEO of Coresystems, a cloud solution that helps companies to source and coordinate technicians for customer service. In 2017, Siemens decided to use Coresystems to digitize their global custome
EP #57 - Jutta Jertrum: How To Bootstrap
Timestamps
2:24 - Why choose bootstrapping?
16:10 - Time management
25:21 - How to frame your product
33:12 - Getting a product into stores
42:57 - Should you go for paid marketing?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Thinking about bootstrapping? Jutta Jertrum has done it and here are some of the points to consider:
Trade-offs
Bootstrapping usually means higher independence in exchange for fast growth.
It may take longer until you pay yourself a salary, since any money comes directly out of the compa
EP #56 - Jutta Jertrum: The Eco-Friendly One Woman Show
Timestamps:
3:18 - Why did Jutta start her own business?
12:19 - How to choose the right company to work with
20:00 - Taking care of logistics
31:42 - Blacking out on live TV
39:10 - Did Jutta sign the contract with the sharks?
About Jutta Jertrum:
Jutta Jertum is the inventor and owner of Twist Out, an ecological drain cleaning device. Jutta was the General Manager at the Castle Rapperswil when she discovered that she could clean her clogged drains more ecologically and effectively using a woo
EP #55 - Thomas Brändle: Financial Advice For Later Stage Startups
Timestamps:
2:15 - The early days of Run My Accounts
11:14 - The challenges of growing organically
26:21 - Early-stage financial tasks
40:11 - What accounting software should you use?
53:20 - How does pricing affect liquidity and cashflow?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Getting your finances right.
In the beginning:
There is no point waiting with signing up to VAT, if you go over the threshold of 150k revenue in a year, it is already too late and will be painful to catch up.
You can, howe
EP #54 - Boris Räber & Alexander Eichhorn: Legal Advice For Later-Stage Startups
Timestamps
1:58 - From a legal aspect, what scaling mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly?
10:30 - Convertible loans or capital increase?
21:21 - How to handle non-compete clauses
33:10 - What startups should me more aware of
38:14 - Taxes for startups
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Just like your apartment, your company needs some basic housekeeping in order to avoid descending into chaos.
Financing rounds
It’s not advisable to negotiate your term sheet without a lawyer if you don’t have pre
EP #53 - Carole Ackermann: Q&A on How To Win Business Angels Over As Investors
Timestamps
2:00 - Why aren't business angels just called "investors"?
5:17 - What's the best time to approach a business angel?
13:50 - How to convince a business angel to invest in an early-stage idea
16:36 - The relevance of a team
21:19 - What KPI does Carole use to assess a product's market?
26:21 - Education or experience?
31:32 - How much of business decisions is gut feeling and how much comes from thorough analysis?
35:59 - How to read a business angel's intentions
39:07 - How much money
EP #52 - Marc P. Bernegger: Selling 2 Companies And Doing An IPO
Timestamps
1:33 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to their exit?
13:44 - Keeping investors satisfied
22:50 - What founders get from an exit
30:57 - When should you sell your company?
33:28 - Requirements for trade sale exit
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Finding the right exit strategy for you and your company.
Getting the basics right
Look beyond Switzerland for potential buyers
If you can, get help from specialized M&A boutiques
Broaden your shareholder base t
EP#51 - Marc P. Bernegger: Meeting Mark Zuckerberg
Timestamps:
1:28 - Selling his first company at 28 years old
20:10 - Staying healthy while working 6 days/week
24:56 - How did Marc meet Mark Zuckerberg?
45:56 - The bitcoin crash of late 2018
49:11 - The future of blockchain technology
About Marc P. Bernegger:
Marc P. Bernegger is the founder of usgang.ch, a nightlife platform, and Amiando, a ticketing system for events. Marc started usgang.ch in 1999 when he was 20 years old and sold it to Axel Springer in 2008. In 2006, he co-founded Amiando
EP #50 - Patrick Thevoz: How To Build A Global Company From Day One
Timestamps:
3:05 - How did a corporate background help Patrick with Flyability?
8:26 - Where is the drone industry headed?
21:06 - Maintaining good communication with testing groups
32:35 - When an investor questions him/herself on what could go wrong
38:08 - How to hire the right people to grow your company
About Patrick Thevoz:
Patrick Thevoz is Co-founder and CEO of Flyability, a company specialized in commercial indoor drones. During his time at Fyability, the company grew from 2 to over 60
EP #49 - Monique Morrow: Why Trust Matters To Businesses Of All Sizes
Timestamps:
2:13 - Why leave a corporate job?
7:34 - How big players make money with your data
14:14 - When did the big breach in data protection happen?
18:58 - What is a responsible way to conduct oneself on social media?
22:52 - Are people aware of the seriousness of the situation?
About Monique Morrow:
Monique Morrow spent 16 years at Cisco, where she became the company’s first Services CTO and spearheaded Cisco’s transition to services as the core piece of their offerings portfolio. After
EP #48 - Michael Friedrich: How To Successfully Handle Competition
Timestamps:
0:33 - What mistakes do Swiss founders repeatedly make when it comes to competition?
15:54 - How to succeed in a tough competitor situation
20:00 - Getting Switzerland on the American investor map
29:03 - Two types of customers
40:46 - Knowing when to get out
The Episode In 60 Seconds
Know your competitive landscape
Keep in mind that most tech products compete on a global scale
Take a holistic view: the same needs can be met with different approaches. They are still your competit
EP #47 - Michael Friedrich: How To Win As An Underdog
Timestamps:
1:52 - Should making an exit always be the goal in creating a startup?
12:00 - Entrepreneurship in the medical field
22:15 - Selling a second company for $12.5 million
31:36 - Do founders grow out of their role?
36:53 - The power of a network
About Michael Friedrich:
Michael Friedrich is the CEO of Distalmotion, a medical device company specialized in robots for minimally invasive surgery. Michael started his first venture as a 16-year-old teenager during high scho
EP #46 - Cris Grossmann: Fundraising For Growth
Timestamps:
2:06 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to funding for growth?
11:43 - How to find investors
24:06 - Turning down a $ 10 million investment offer
30:47 - How to go about evaluation
40:50 - When to start the fundraising process
The Episode In 60 Seconds
The four phases of fundraising.
Phase 1: Preparation
Start preparations either in early September or in January, as to not hit the VCs’ winter or summer break.
Don’t waste your time talking
EP #45 - Cris Grossmann: Building the fastest growing startup in Switzerland
Timestamps:
2:40 - Running a business in Switzerland vs in Mexico
10:23 - The early days of Spocal
21:55 - Raising 50k
35:40 - Figuring out pricing
39:15 - When to scale up
About Cristian Grossmann:
Cristian Grossmann is the CEO and co-founder at Beekeeper, a software company which allows businesses to easily communicate with their non-desk workforce. Cristian was born in Mexico City, to a Mexican-Swiss family. He left Mexico as a teenager to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering at ETH Zuric
EP #44 - Emile de Rijk: Building A Business In Outer Space
Timestamps:
2:44 - The story behind the name "Swissto12"
7:50 - Identifying and solving problems
11:17 - Switching markets
21:00 - Convincing customers
27:04 - Emile's plans for the funds he raised.
About Emile de Rijk:
Emile de Rijk is the co-founder and CEO of Swissto12, a high-tech company which specializes in the 3D printing of radio frequency products based on its own patented technology. The company’s technology originated from Emil’s PhD thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technolog
EP #43 - Nicolas Bürer: Q&A on Accelerators & Incubators In Switzerland
Timestamps
2:07 - What's the difference between an accelerator and an incubator?
3:14 - Are accelerators and incubators worth it?
4:10 - When should you reach out to accelerators and incubators?
5:55 - Do certain business types have more of a chance with investors?
7:48 - What do accelerators and incubators deliver to you as a startup?
11:11 - Do accelerators and incubators even do anything?
13:04 - Which famous Swiss companies have been part of an accelerator or an incubator?
14:19 - Where to f
EP #42 - Andreas Fischler: How To Scale Your Company Culture
Timestamps:
1:46 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to culture?
9:01 - The difficulties of creating a culture
12:58 - Important values
20:00 - Scaling company culture: recruiting & on-boarding
35:40 - Treating people fairly
The Episode In 60 Seconds
It’s never too early
Create culture with intention from the very beginning.
Start explicitly documenting and “negotiating” your culture as soon as you grow to 10 people or more.
Scaling culture
Hiring the right peo
EP #41 - Andreas Fischler: From Consulting Partner To Startup CEO
Timestamps:
2:07 - Leaving a consulting firm
17:07 - Starting at Frontify
28:00 - Growing a company from 0 to 75k users
32:55 - Splitting development costs with his first client
36:40 - How self-explanatory products support customer growth
About Andreas Fischler:
Andreas Fischler is the co-founder of and former CEO at Frontify, which offers cloud software for brand management. During his time at Frontify, the company grew from 2 to over 70 employees. Before joining Frontify, he was a partner at
EP #40 - Andri Silberschmidt: Q&A on Starting a Company in Zurich
Timestamps
2:33 - Where can I find some good templates to set up my company in Zurich?
3:30 - How do I hire someone in Zurich?
5:49 - What's the most successful startup that was started in Zurich?
7:19 - Mistakes to avoid when starting a company in Zurich
10:14 - Living costs in Zurich
11:56 - Finding co-founders in Zurich
15:13 - Affordable office space in Zurich
17:48 - Looking for investment in Zurich
19:33 - How to get advisors on board
21:46 - Why start a business in Zurich?
25:08 - How sta
EP #39 - Estefanía Tapias: The State Of Female Entrepreneurship In Switzerland
Timestamps:
8:02 - Should military service be mandatory for women?
12:19 - Growing up with 3 sisters and an entrepreneurial mom
18:35 - The women quota
20:58 - How can men support women?
27:18 - How do we get more women in leadership positions?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
What drives inequality in Switzerland?
Historical factors such as the absence of a total war which shook up societal structures in other European countries.
Expensive childcare and unequal career development paths
Venture ca
EP #38 - Estefanía Tapias: How To Hustle In Switzerland
Timestamps:
2:26 - Why Estefania left research to start her own company
10:35 - Growing up in an entrepeneurial family
21:27 - If you're gonna fail, fail fast.
30:18 - How Estefania went about looking for a location
35:19 - How Estefania structures negotiations
About Estefanía Tapias:
Estefanía Tapias is the CEO and Co-Founder of WeSpace, a community, workspace and digital platform that nurtures female leadership and innovation, having opened its doors in Zurich in 2018. Estefaní
EP #37 - Michael Born: Q&A On Co-Founders
Timestamps
1:49 – Do I need a co-founder at all?
2:57 – At what stage should you look for co-founders?
3:48 – Is there an ideal number of co-founders?
5:25 – Where do I find my co-founders?
6:52 – Friends/family as co-founders: yay or nay?
8:06 – Is it necessary to have previously known your co-founder?
10:45 – Does my co-founder need to be geographically close?
11:49 – What is a good test to figure out if a team works well?
14:32 – Should my co-founder be similar to me or completely different?
EP #36 - Markus Okumus: How To Hire And Manage Your Startup Team
Timestamps:
1:49 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to hiring and managing people?
13:08 - The diversity question
25:48 - Good startup communication
44:47 - How to strengthen your gut feeling, in terms of hiring
49:44 - Should you hire friends and family?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
People can be an organization’s biggest asset but also one of their greatest pain points. Here are some of Markus Okumus’ key takeaways:
Attracting talent
In the early stages of a compan
EP #35 - Markus Okumus: An Entrepreneur’s Secrets To Selling Two Startups
Timestamps
1:53 - How Markus got involved with students.ch
21:49 - How to manage several business at the same time
25:13 - How to scale up very fast
38:25 - Why Markus started his investment company
47:12 - When should you actually move your startup to San Francisco
About Markus Okumus:
Markus Okumus is a serial entrepreneur with two successful exits in Switzerland. In 2007, his first venture, students.ch (part of Amiado Group) was acquired by Axel Springer. Only a year later, he started Fashi
EP #34 - Pascal Mathis: Q&A About Early-Stage Fundraising
Timestamps
1:53 – What are some questions every founder should ask themselves before fundraising?
4:13 – How do you determine what is smart money for your business?
5:08 – When is the ideal time to find investors (not FFF)?
6:08 – After how much revenue did you start to look for investors?
9:17 – How can I estimate how much my startup is worth before starting the first financing round?
11:21 – What if you get a down round?
11:54 – How can you get your foot in the door with a potential investor?
EP #33 - Alex Fries: Your Jobs As A Startup CEO
Timestamps
2:43 - Why start a company in Switzerland after studying in the US
10:00 - How to scale up in 3 years
22:15 - From founder to investor
31:37 - What the entrepreneurial spirit should be like
36:58 - Is age a factor?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
The role of a startup CEO is challenging and ever-changing. These are some of the tasks you should be ready to tackle in the initial stages of your company:
Early stage
Fundraising
Getting the money to grow your company will
EP #32 - Alex Fries: Selling Two Startups For Several $100m In The Same Year
Timestamps:
2:03 - Why start a company in Switzerland after studying in the U.S.?
9:15 - How to scale up within 3 years
21:22 - Going from founder to investor
30:42 - What the entrepreneurial spirit should be like
35:58 - Is age a factor, in the startup world?
About Alex Fries:
Originally from the Swiss Canton of Graubunden, Alexander Fries moved to San Francisco in 2002 in connection with a tech startup (SVOX AG) he had co-founded in Switzerland. Today, Alex is one of the most renowned Swiss v
EP #31 - Frank Thelen: From Failure To Success
Timestamps:
1:54 - Going bankrupt as a young adult
12:18 - Key values for founders
15:39 - When to drop a business venture
17:23 - VC funding or bootstrapping?
18:55 - Europe's role in the global startup scene
About Frank Thelen:
Frank Thelen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Freigeist Capital (formerly e42). He is however best known for his role on “Höhle der Löwen”, a German reality TV program where founders pitch to senior venture capitalists for fundraising. Since the early 90’s, he has fo
EP #30 - Renato Stalder: Financial Advice For Early Stage Startups
Timestamps
1:53 - What mistakes do Swiss Startups make repeatedly regarding their finances?
4:11 - When should you decide to hand your accounting to someone else?
16:05 - Insurances, deductions and fees to take into account
34:06- What to do when a customer doesn't pay the invoice
44:05 - Where to find the right financial partners
The Episode In 60 Seconds
When it comes to finances, the mantra is “never procrastinate”. Here are the most important points to start off on the right foot:
VAT (
EP #29 - Christian Meisser: Legal Advice For Early Stage Startups
Timestamps:
1:50 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to the legal aspect?
10:54 - How to get out of a tricky contract
26:30 - How to handle investors
40:00 - HR: attracting and retaining talent
48:50 - Should you have a strong legal partner on your side?
The Episode In 60 Seconds
There are 5 legal areas every startup should have covered:
Corporate law
Have a clear agreement in place of how the departure of a co-founder would be handled.
Critically look at sharehol
EP #28 - Iman Nahvi: B2B Marketing Framework For Startups
Timestamps:
2:10 - Mistakes Swiss founders make repeatedly when it comes to B2B Sales
12:37 - How to determine your target clients
22:22 - Where to look for leads
36:20 - How to close a deal faster
42:43 - What KPIs to focus on
About Iman Nahvi:
Iman Nahvi is the co-founder and CEO of Advertima, a company which uses AI for consumer engagement on physical channels. At Advertima, Iman implemented a holocratic organisational structure, meaning (among other things) equal pay for all employees and
EP #27 - Iman Nahvi: From Family Business To Multi-million Startup
Timestamps:
2:26 - Should you start a business with a family member?
4:33 - Why Iman went from banking to entrepreneurship
20:50 - How Iman chooses his employees
28:40 - Paying every employee the same salary
33:11- Employee stock option pools
About Iman Nahvi:
Iman Nahvi is the co-founder and CEO of Advertima, a company which uses AI for consumer engagement on physical channels. At Advertima, Iman implemented a holocratic organisational structure, meaning (among other things) equal pay for
EP #26 - Alan Frei: B2C Marketing Framework for Startups
Timestamps
1:23 - What mistakes do Swiss founders repeatedly make when it comes to B2C marketing?
11:00 - Investing in auto-marketing activities
14:04 - Improving conversion rate
21:02 - Best tools for marketing
29:18 - The marketing channel of the future
About Alan Frei:
Alan Frei is the co-founder of amorana.ch, an e-commerce platform for sex toys and lingerie. Before starting Amorana, he experimented with a variety of other projects such as nachhilfeportal.de and LooksOfLove, fro
EP #25 - Alan Frei: How To Build A Successful Multimillion E-Commerce Startup
Timestamps
1:32 - What can the Swiss startup ecosystem learn from the Chinese one?
12:10 - The importance of having the right focus
16:20 - How Alan's father being an entrepreneur influenced him
20:57 - Does minimalism bring happiness?
26:34 - The role of the social circle when it comes to personal growth and support
About Alan Frei:
Alan Frei is the co-founder of amorana.ch, an e-commerce platform for sex toys and lingerie. Before starting Amorana, he experimented with a variety of othe
EP #24 - Daniel Gutenberg: How To Fundraise As An Early Stage Startup
Timestamps:
1:15 - Mistakes Swiss founders make repeatedly.
4:20 - How to find the right evaluation.
09:58 - How much money should an early-stage company raise?
21:47 - How should a startup team deal with an investor?
29:12 - How often does Daniel check-in with his investments?
About Daniel Gutenberg:
Finding unicorns before they have 10 employees is his ambition. Daniel Gutenberg is one of Switzerland’s most active Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors. During his career he’s collected a tot
EP #23 - Daniel Gutenberg: One Man, Twelve Unicorns – And Still Counting
Timestamps
2:55 - How he started his first company
14:28 - His first successful exit
19:00 - Being a Venture Capitalist and an Angel Investor at the same time
27:40 - What are the characteristics of a Unicorn CEO?
39:33 - The future of blockchain technology and crypto assets in general
About Daniel Gutenberg:
Finding unicorns before they have 10 employees is his ambition. Daniel Gutenberg is one of Switzerland’s most active Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors. During his career he’s collect
EP #22 - Herbert Bay: How To Build a Great Product
Timestamps
1:19 - Mistakes Swiss startups repeatedly make when creating a product
10:03 - How long does it take to build a great tech product?
12:44 - How to acquire customers
17:46 - Bringing new technology to Switzerland
26:22 - What makes a great product?
About Herbert Bay:
Herbert is the co-founder of Kooaba, an image recognition program which he successfully sold to Qualcomm in 2014. Following his successful exit, he embarked on a sailing trip from France to New Zealand togethe
EP #21 - Herbert Bay: Selling a Company and Sailing Around The World
Timestamps:
1:20 - What made Herbert Bay become an entrepreneur.
5:40 - Having two technical founders; dealing with lack of business knowledge.
7:30 - Raising 10 million dollars.
12:25 - How Herbert dealt with a difficult time in his life; what he learnt.
24:57 - Managing a company from a distance.
About Herbert Bay:
Herbert is the co-founder of Kooaba, an image recognition program which he successfully sold to Qualcomm in 2014. Following his successful exit, he embarked on a sailing trip from
EP #20 - Cédric Waldburger: What Makes a Good Startup Team
Timestamps
1:23 - Team-related mistakes
4:50 - Giving guidance vs offering freedom to employees
7:11 - The company lifecycle
12:55 - The ideal co-founding relationship
34:25 - Sendtask and remote teams
About Cédric Waldburger:
Cédric is a Venture Capitalist and founder of Dfinity, Tenderloin Ventures and Sendtask. He started his first venture – Mediasign, a digital branding agency – in high school. He went on to study electrical engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) an
EP #19 - Cédric Waldburger: Minimalism and Multitasking in the Business World
Timestamps:
1:37 - Delivering value to 11 different projects at the same time
14:19 - How the Swiss military service supported/hindered Cédric's entrepreneurial career
20:15 - Owning only 64 things
22:52 - What is DFINITY?
34:42 - 90-day goals
About Cédric Waldburger:
Cédric is a Venture Capitalist and founder of Tenderloin Ventures and Sendtask. He started his first venture – Mediasign, a digital branding agency – in high school. He went on to study electrical engineering at the Federal Instit
EP #18 - Christian Hirsig: How To Find The Right Startup Idea
Timestamps
1:30 - What mistakes do you see Swiss startup founders repeatedly make?
7:30 - How to obtain accurate feedback for your idea.
14:50 - Where to spend your time: documentation vs implementation. How to implement. The minimum viable product.
25:40 - Data gathering to evaluate the possible success of your idea.
28:12 - When to kill your idea or move on from it
About Christian Hirsig:
Christian is one of the co-founders of Swisspreneur.org and a passionate serial entrepreneur. He founded
EP #17 - Christian Hirsig: Founding a Coding Academy For Refugees
Timestamps:
3:00 - Changes for Swisspreneur.
6:28 - Associations vs For-profit companies.
12:40 - Finding good employees.
23:25 - Growing up in an entrepreneurial family.
26:47 - When to leave a startup.
About Christian Hirsig:
Christian is one of the co-founders of Swisspreneur.org and a passionate serial entrepreneur. He founded his first venture — Atizo, a crowdsourcing platform for ideas — in 2007. He eventually sold the company and went on to start the consulting business and startup incub
EP #16 - Anastasia Hofmann & Naomi MacKenzie: Friends, Founders and Partners in Crime
Timestamps
2:06 - What makes a successful accelerator application
15:40 - Launching your first pilot
29:00 - Hiring and outsourcing
33:16 - Splitting shares
39:55 - Making it work without salaries
About Anastasia Hofmann and Naomi MacKenzie
Through her work experience in Malta, Miami Beach, Lausanne and Zurich, Anastasia developed a strong fascination for the hospitality industry. She holds a Bachelor of international hospitality management from Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne and is very interest
EP #15 - Thomas Sterchi: Creating Jobs.ch
Timestamps
9:00 - Deciding who to sell to
22:52 - Retaining confidence after your first failure
36:14 - What to look for in a headhunter
41:05 - Stock option plans
52:49 - Building a company, not a startup
About Thomas Sterchi:
Thomas is best known as the founder of jobs.ch, an online job market platform. In 2007, he and his partner sold the venture to an American holding company for a multi-million dollar sum. Since his successful exit, Thomas has built up a diversified portfolio of proje
EP #14 - Rosmarie Michel: A Pioneer for Swiss Women in Business
Timestamps
7:05 - Meeting President Reagan
21:15 - How a public speaker is born
28:12 - Skills for managing crises
34:34 - Why it's important to empower women in business
37:49 - Advice to young women
About Rosmarie Michel:
Rosmarie Michel, now in her eighties, looks back on a lifetime of entrepreneurship and advocacy for women in business. In the 1970s she was one of the first women to be appointed to the board of major Swiss companies such as Valora and Volksbank, which later was bought by Cr
EP #13 - Markus Popp: Success, Failure and Everything In Between
Timestamp
7:54 - The importance of your economic footprint
15:36 - Realizing you've chosen the wrong strategy
27:20 - The hard parts of entrepreneurship
35:11 - Does anyone have the recipe for success?
46:29 - Advice for young entrepreneurs
About Markus Popp:
Markus Popp is best known as the founder of tilllate.com, a party event platform with photo gallery and community features. In 2009, Markus left tilllate.com and embarked on a half-year inspirational sabbatical. Upon his ret
EP #12 - Lea von Bidder: Talking Gender Gap in the Startup World
Timestamps
2:11 - The gender gap in the Swiss startup ecosystem
18:45 - Splitting up with your co-founder and abandoning the startup
34:05 - Startup competitions: yay or nay?
42:16 - The advantage of incubators
48:12 - Choosing the right idea
About Lea von Bidder:
Lea is best know as the Co-founder and President of Ava Science, Inc., the company behind the Ava bracelet, the first fertility-tracking wearable device. Prior to starting Ava, Lea co-founded L’inouï, a premium chocolate producti
EP #11 - Daniel & Markus Freitag: The Bootstrapped Startup With No CEO
Timestamps
7:00 - Coming up with an initial marketing strategy
11:45 - Bootstrapping your business
16:06 - Measuring your ecological footprint
24:37 - What they look for in new employees
40:55 - How digitalization influences your business
About Markus and Daniel Freitag:
In 1993, graphic designers Markus and Daniel Freitag were looking for a functional, water-repellent and robust bag to hold their creative work. Inspired by the multicolored heavy traffic that rumbled through the Zurich transit
EP #10 - Adrian Locher: Succeeding Beyond Your Wildest Expectations
Timestamps
6:44 - What to look for in a co-founder
11:38 - When is the right time to become an entrepreneur?
31:45 - How to steer a fast growing company
36:42 - Handling bad press
44:47 - The future of AI
About Adrian Locher:
Adrian is best known as Founder and COO of DeinDeal.ch, an e-commerce coupons and discounts platform for products and services. Within a year of starting the business, DeinDeal.ch was the fastest growing Swiss start-up and market leader in the group buying segmen
EP #9 - Peter Schuepach: How to Pack Up and Start Again
Timestamps
3:18 - Why say no to a banking career
23:34 - Having to shut down your company
27:30 - Recovering from the crash
36:34 - Why you could not want to sell your company to Facebook
44:49 - Knowing when to move on
About Peter Schuepbach:
Peter Schuepbach started his entrepreneurial career as a co-founder of Miracle Software AG back in 1986 and served as its Chief Executive Officer for more than 10 years. He grew the organization in 14 years to a 350 employee software company with off
EP #8 - Roman Gaus: The Challenges of a Social Impact Startup
Timestamps
7:32 - Realizing corporate life isn't for you
28:32 - Hiring strategies
32:57 - Handling divergent expectations within the company
45:14 - Setting and changing targets
49:17 - Work-life balance
About Roman Gaus:
Roman is best known as the Founder and CEO of UrbanFarmers, a company dedicated to building commercial food production systems in and around cities. Together with Andreas Graber, he has developed UrbanFarmers’ vision how food could be grown in an urban space at a large scale.
EP #7 - André Borschberg: The Startup That Flew A Solar Powered Plane Around the Globe
Timestamps
7:45 - What André learned from being a fighter pilot in the Swiss army
11:26 - What young people should do to prepare for an entrepreneurial career
19:24 - What a great team looks like
28:48 - How to deal with risk
31:17 - Dealing with crises
About André Borschberg:
André Borschberg is best known as the CEO, co-founder and pilot of Solar Impulse: the enterprise that, under his guidance, built a solar-powered plane that broke the world record for the longest solo flight in a
EP #6 - Alisée de Tonnac: Creating a Global Startup Initiative
Timestamps
0:40 - The concept of Seedspaces and co-habitation
14:23 - Things to consider when picking a co-founder
17:09 - The importance of recruiting
22:43 - Operating across different cultures
31:45 - Advice to female entrepreneurs
About Alisée de Tonnac:
Alisée de Tonnac is the Founder and CEO of Seedstars, an investment firm building and investing in tech companies in 60+ emerging markets. After traveling for a year around the world she set up the first edition of Seedstars in 20
EP #5 - Daniel Graf: A Sillicon Valley Veteran
Timestamps:
8:46 - Launching a startup in 11 months
22:39 - Working at Google
32:26 - How to drive the company's culture as a CEO
37:51 - What Switzerland can learn from Silicon Valley and Berlin
41:32 - What it takes to start a company nowadays
About Daniel Graf:
Daniel joined Uber in 2015 as the Head of Marketplace, the team that works on Uber’s dynamic pricing model. Before joining Uber he did a short stint at Twitter as the Vice President of Consumer Product. Prior to Twitter Daniel was in
EP #4 - Toni Schneider: The Trials and Tribulations of A Startup CEO
Timestamps
15:46 - How to build a company on open source
22:40 - Scaling Automattic with a distributed team
36:20 - Having a long-term view of your startup
44:18 - Loneliness as a startup CEO
51:13 - Creating feedback loops
About Toni Schneider:
Toni Schneider is a founding Partner of True Ventures. From 2006-2014 he was CEO of Automattic where he led WordPress.com to become a top 10 global internet destination with close to a billion monthly visitors. At Automattic, To
EP #3 - Myke Näf: From Farm Living to Founding Doodle
Timestamps
10:35 - Early days of Doodle and taking risks
16:21 - Managing growth and culture
25:18 - How to manage a product backlog
27:35 - On launching early
38:20 - Myke's productivity tips
About Myke Näf:
Myke Näf is the founder and former CEO of Doodle, the prominent event scheduler software. He sold the company for an undisclosed amount to Tamedia in 2014. Shortly after the acquisition he left Doodle and has become an active angel investor and startup mentor in Switzerland. He’s a Venture
EP #2 - Dania Gerhardt: The Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship
Timestamps
1:06 - Why open offices in Zurich, Austin and Cape Town
5:54 - Why studying economics aids you as a CEO
21:55 - Dealing with critics
32:03 - Knowing it's time to pivot
46:25 - Founding a company with your husband/wife
About Dania Gerhardt:
Dania Gerhardt is the founder of Amazee Labs. She started Amazee.com in 2007 and successfully pivoted her startup to one of Switzerland’s premier Web services companies Amazee Labs. The company has offices in Zurich, Austin and
EP #1 - Alain Chuard: From Switzerland to the US and Back Again
Timestamps
18:15 - How to make it work when your co-founder is your wife
28:39 - How to find product-market fit
36:24 - Selling his company Wildfire to Google
41:45 - What it's like working for Google
47:14 - The Swiss startup ecosystem
About Alain Chuard:
Alain Chuard is a Swiss serial entrepreneur and former professional snowboarder living in Palo Alto, California. He is best known as the founder and Chief product officer of Wildfire Interactive, the social media marketing technology company
Swisspreneur Show (Trailer)
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